Brother
(Unsigned)
2008
***
On the outskirts of Los Angeles and heading east, emerging from the Azusa Canyon, echoes the folk-rock sounds old Dylan and the Beach Boys from a small undiscovered band, Brother. Early summer optimism prevail in this young, talented group.

The self-titled opening track is nothing more than party sounds, an anthem piece starting, “if you’re down, if you’re out..” friends yelling background expletives with a single acoustic guitar and tambourine, it’s the sound of camaraderie. The rest of the album’s sound is richly Californian (think Brian Wilson, maybe even a little CSNY), sans the beachy swells or Hollywood pretension of the overwhelming influx of hipster we see in this city. The simple and catchy Dylan-esque choruses are made for sing-alongs and the lovingly added harmonica has beautiful solos of its own. With All Things Must Pass guitar sounds on songs like “Mexico, Mexico” and “Devil On Your Back,” frontman, Shawn Morones combines the 1960’s with modern ideals of the youth in America, slide guitar with Brian Wilson oohs and ahhs and harmonized guitars on “I Got Blues.” And with guitar riffs that are invigorating instead of harsh and brassy, Morones says he’s no longer a lead guitar player, he’s evolved into a rhythm guitarist. And you can hear it. It results in a balanced album so the solos are refined, and not overwhelming like the kind of Chili Pepper riffs that just make you go “o.k., stop now.” “Going Down” despite the dirty insinuation, is not, in fact, about oral sex but it will melt your face off, in the Jeff Tweedy sort of way, however hearing it live is another story and you’ll have to experience it for yourself. And the drum sound, is incendiary, thanks for RCE DeLong’s syncopated crashes that illuminate each track. Save for the drumless “Water” which sounds like it was recorded in the kitchen or bathroom; with heavy breathing, squeaky doors and ambiguous, thoughtful lyrics accompanied with single guitar strumming and the occasional folk harmonica. Crowd favorite, “It’s All Happening” is the catchy I was talking about, a sing-along shout, also gives us the album title which snuck in there. This entire album lies in that category of when you’re feeling nostalgic right in the moment; when you look around and realize how much you adore the people you’re with and how delightful the laughter. Just relaxed and sunny with enough sweet melancholy of a kid in love with everything he experiences, and the sour heartache that follows.

Vocally (and lyrically), it draws heavily from M. Ward and Wilco, with harmonies reminiscent of Fleet Foxes and their baroque-pop-ambient-folk-mountain-man sound. With lines like “and all my friends have done the same, we sold our souls, saw the world and changed our names,” ‘“it ain’t so hard to dance with the devil on your back,” “we’ve been here before, seen it all and we want more,” or “hell even Jesus cried” the lyrical content is poignant, understated poetry of hitting the road à la Kerouac, chaotic relationships, polaroids, kissing, losers, the blues, night owls, debonair and the exploding vibrant now-or-never carpe diem attitude that will bewitch you from track to track and have you begging to grab your best friend by the hand and say these are the times of our lives. My advice would be, to “take it now,” as Brother would say. Their hand, and this album. Now. Like right now.

The album Better Days by Brother is available through iTunes, cdbaby.com, emusic.com and Amazon. All songs written and arranged by Shawn Morones. You can find Brother on myspace at myspace.com/thebrothercircus, on their blog http://thebrothercircus.blogspot.com or hanging around shoddy bars and venues around Los Angeles.

via Jamie Criss, 16 March 2009 7:35am | 2 |