The album opens with its six minute opus "Beggar in the Morning." It is slightly bogged down by an overly long intro, but it opens into a song of almost incomparable beauty. Brad Barr has an almost whispered vocal style, that is wholly as subtle and evocative as Iron and Wine's Sam Beam. Nowhere is this more evidence that on the gentle ballad "Oh belle." "Old Mythologies" is a more textured and complex ballad, with mandolin chasing harp along a racing melody line, offering layered counterpart to Brad Barr's lyrical assertions. "If you are going to line them up, I have to knock them down," Barr challenges. They up the production for "Give the Devil Back His Heart," creating an overlapping harp and vocal line straight out of 1970's rock. It is not an unpleasant song, but a bit jarring when set against the quiet beauty of the rest of the album. The contrast between styles in rendered especially stark when they follow "Give the Devil Back His Heart" with "Cloud," the simplest track on the album. Page and Barr combine for a harmony straight out of the movie Once. Their voice blend with a simple backdrop of whistles, harp and snare. The atmosphere turns darker and more sinister for "The Devil's Harp." "I tuned up his harp, it was the last thing that I heard before I walked," Brad Barr sings, his voice wistfully recalling lost opportunities. As if to both explain and ward off all of the references to the devil, the band breaks out "Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Crying." The songs is a taste slice of jangling, foot stomping gospel. "Decon's Son" opens with a controlled cacophony, before settling into a whimsical mix of old-school country troupes. The slightly battered honky tonk meets Western meets music box melody fits perfectly with the story of the titular characters self imposed difficulty dealing with the whims of God, the Devil, life and fate. "Held My Head" indulges the band's worst tendency, which is to finds itself traveling the ruts of Iron and Wine. However, the song does save itself from tedium with tasteful harmonica licks and some lush harmonies from Page. The band does know how to end things on a high note, closing with the album best track--the lovely and hopeful "Let There Be Horses." "Let there be horses," Barr and Page croon, "let there be one song, a song for the little man, a song for his wife and his two charmed children."
Brad and Andrew Barr are a part a school of musicians who make music almost constantly, but also whimsically and erratically, bouncing between their primary band and their several side projects. This can be both exciting and difficult for a fan. It does offer fans a more diverse and complete view of the artists entire musical legacy, giving them the chance to make any music they might want to make. It also requires patience because it can take some time before each project get rotated to the top again. The Barr Brothers reveals some of the best music that Brad and Andrew Barr have ever made. Here is hoping for a music legacy that offers us much, much more of it.
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