Though the 120-mile-long canyon that cleaves the Panhandle’s plains into a bewitchingly rugged land is the nation’s second largest, locals consider it Texas’s best-kept secret.

That it works so bewitchingly is a testament to Ms. Kihlstedt’s coolheaded, unflashy singing, and to Mr. Goldberg’s graceful way with a melody.

Sometimes morose geniuses can be fascinatingly complicated or bewitchingly tortured, but Yves consistently comes across as simply sullen.