The Barr Brothers are a four piece and sadly not all brothers. Despite this poor start, the music they create can be quite lovely! There are two brothers amongst the group, with Brad on guitar/vocals and Andrew on drums. They are joined by classical harpist Sarah Pagé and pianist/bassist Andrès Vial. The brothers are from Boston, while the other two parts of the band hail from Montreal. While not being a radical arrangement of instruments, the introduction of the harp does add some subtle variation to their sound that moves them away from the masses.

They wear their influences on their sleeve and are at times reminiscent of Van Morrison and Dylan while at other times they verge on blue grass with slide guitar and sprawling guitar solos. There is a subtle difference in the arrangements between tracks and this makes them all the more satisfying.

There is nothing spectacular about this album. Most songs find a delicate wistful groove and stay in that mould. The tracks are the musical equivalent of chicken soup on a cold winters day. There’s something nourishing and very pleasant about what they do and it is to be enjoyed.

Find out more about the Barr Brothers here.

1. Static Orphans
2. Love Ain’t Enough
3. Wolves
4. Even the Darkness Has Arms
5. Come in the Water
6. Little Lover
7. How the Heroine Dies
8. Valhallas
9. Half Crazy
10. Bring Me Your Love
11. England
12. The Bear at the Window
13. Please Let Me Let it Go