ALBUM REVIEW: The Brother Brothers Pack Playful and Powerful into ‘The January Album’

The January Album, the fourth record from Adam and David Moss, those twin sons of Peoria, Illinois, known musically as The Brother Brothers, is a COVID-era record in the strictest sense: The Mosses wrote most of its 12 tracks during the first few months of lockdown in the US. But The January Album, rather than lacing each song with obvious references to the crisis, embraces that moment under the surface. The work reflects themes common to the brothers’ discography to date; it’s tied to 2020 as a consequence of its conception.

The choice to sidestep didactic nonsense is refreshing, if unsurprising. Like all other Brother Brothers records, The January Album is characterized by humble honesty. The Mosses aren’t showy or flashy. They speak and play simply, so their messages can be clearly heard, though this belies their craftsmanship’s subtle complexities, the product of a shared soul that’s equal parts playful and doleful. These two qualities often entwine, but occasionally the brothers separate them, as on The January Album’s opening tracks, “Lonesome” and “Brown Dog”: The former captures pure existential melancholy, while the latter cheerfully counts the praises of man’s best friend and takes the mickey out of man.

On “Lonesome,” a gentle number spotlighting the human race’s cosmic insignificance, the resonating twang of David’s guitar invokes the vastness of the night sky and all the stars that lie beyond. The experiential effect of that sound is given grounding, however, by David and Adam’s soft vocalizations, and then further brought down to Earth by “Brown Dog”’s giddy tone. Here, the brothers make a farce of our over-reliance on and fondness for our electronic devices, humbling the listener via a happy, bouncy tune.

A dual purpose like that — teasing the audience while reminding them of their humanity — requires finesse to pull off. But that’s the benefit of meaning what you sing, as The Brother Brothers do: one play-through gives the impression of parody, while another invites bobbing your head along.

Consider “Be My Bartender,” stowed away later in The January Album’s track list: The slow, deliberate tempo, coupled with the commanding pluck of an upright bass, makes for pleasing, animating music, but there’s substance to this song about raising a glass to shuttered watering holes. Pair that with “Super Moon,” the most overtly COVID-centered song in the bunch, and the brothers’ aesthetic leans further into double-headed contexts.

The January Album is all about the pandemic; it’s not about the pandemic at all. It’s about where we listen to it, and how.

The January Album by The Brother Brothers is out April 19.