Product Reviews
Born in Rhode Island and based in Montreal, Brad (vocals, guitar) and Andrew (drums) Barr team with Sarah Page (hammer dulcimer, harp) and Andres Vial (pump organ, vibraphone) as the Barr Brothers on this self-titled folk-pop effort, which is both a little rustic in its under-produced sound and also has the quality of chamber music. Brad Barr sings in a murmur with his low tenor, sometimes accompanied by high harmony vocals, and the melancholy tone of the lyrics sometimes makes the whole sound like Simon & Garfunkel performing the Leonard Cohen songbook. The combination of instruments, usually led by Brad Barr's fingerpicked acoustic guitar, also suggests an "unplugged" version of the Band on occasion. But the group manages to rock out on "Give the Devil Back His Heart," which boasts a lengthy electric guitar solo and recalls Traffic. And the two Barrs make like the White Stripes on the guitar/bass arrangement of Blind Willie Johnson's "Lord, I Just Can't Keep from Crying." The Barr Brothers are a different kind of folk group, bringing in unusual instrumentation and performing in a manner that draws the listener into a special musical world. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
Product Notes
2011 album from this Montreal-based quartet founded by brothers Brad and Andrew Barr, best known for their previous work as members of New England trio The Slip. A move to Montreal in 2004 eventually led to the formation of the new group, rounded out by harpist Sarah Page, and multi-instrumentalist Andres Vial, both Montreal natives. Recorded in their makeshift studio in an old boiler room at the foot of Mount Royal, the self-titled debut was written over the course of the brothers' time in a city full of strangers, lovers, old ghosts and new friends. It reads like a dusty journal of a traveler at the crossroads of good and evil. It's an opus of beautiful Folk, gut- busting Blues and far-out African rhythm.