The Barr Brothers: Delicately Planted Folk Rock
Adjacency is what makes The Barr Brothers tick. In the most literal sense, it was the act of moving in next door to harpist Sara Page that catalyzed Brad and Andrew Barr into a new band. The brothers had moved to Montreal in the wake of the demise of their New England-based avant-rock trio The Slip. Folding Sara's intricate harp runs into their sound, and adding multi-instrumentalist Andrew Vial, the newly consolidated The Barr Brothers created a lush and eclectic folk rock that earned them a Polaris Prize nomination on their first outing. Their sound is in the adjacency of polyrhythmic drums, delicate accents, and sprawling guitars -- a melange that would swamp less capable groups.
The band's latest album, Sleeping Operator, develops beyond that gentle, earthy feeling, but calls upon deeper R&B influences -- demonstrated in the song "Half Crazy."
