Refined. Talented. Elegant. All words that should be used to describe the sound of The Low Anthem, who performed this past Friday at the 9:30 Club. In the opening slot for Iron and Wine, the group’s set was cut far too short. But making the best of the time that they did have, the band managed to work a quiet magic on the crowd with their unique brand of ethereal Americana.

Over the course of about 40 minutes, Ben Knox Miller, the band's chief vocalist, led the group through a set that leaned heavily on their latest album, Smart Flesh (read our review here) while still finding time to dig back deeper into songs from their earlier releases. Miller’s voice, which comes across as uniquely off on the band’s recordings, was surprisingly strong on hushed tracks like Matter of Time and To the Ghosts Who Write History Books. In fact, all the voices in the band are strong. These guys can really sing, and when they came together in the middle of the stage for the songs Ghost Woman Blues and Love and Altar, the band proved that those gorgeous harmonies that you hear on record have nothing to do with studio magic.