If you haven’t heard of them, Middle Brother, you probably aren’t reading this website. To catch you up to speed, Middle Bro is made of Deer Tick’s John McCauley, Dawes frontman, Taylor Goldsmith, and Delta Spirit frontman, Matt Vasquez. Together they form a young supergroup that I couldn’t be more excited to hear them play together.
Now on to the most important part. Does it live up to the formula… does the sum equal the parts? Is it just a few Delta Spirit songs a few Dawes songs and a few Deer Tick songs?
Resoundingly, yes, the sum equals the parts. The creative forces put together equal the sum if not exceed the sum. This album is really really really good. Did I say really? These guys sound like they’ve been playing together for years, the album is wide varying between contemplative folk songs (Daydreaming, Thanks for Nothing) wild rock romps (Middle Brother, Me Me Me) and even a retro 60’s pop styled track (Someday). Sure some songs sound all more Dawes, all more Delta Spirit or all more Deer Tick but the album still flows quite well, with each frontman taking center stage equally. It doesn’t detract, or feel like 3 separate EP’s it feels whole, singular and totally awesome.
There was a boatload of hype going into this album, and admittedly I had maybe too lofty of expectations for the album. But without hyperbole, this album is fantastic. Its damn well written, wonderfully catchy, and totally represents the best supergroup out there these days. They do what some supergroups fail to do, they show off the talents of each member of the group without making it feel “Ok it’s my turn…” the album on a whole feels like pure congruence of the 3 headed creative monster they are. The music they put together is pure fun and just great to listen.
Buy buy buy! Middle Brother
Tour Dates:
March 3 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club *
March 4 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel *
March 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
March 6 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
March 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts *
March 10 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall *
March 11 – Toronto, ON – Opera House (with Deer Tick only)
March 12 – Chicago, IL – Metro *
March 13 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre *
March 14 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
March 15 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theater *
March 17 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada *
March 18 – Austin, TX – Brooklyn Vegan, Partisan Records, and KF Records Present: A Free SXSW Day Party at Swan Dive / Barbarella (SXSW)
March 19 – Austin, TX – Auditorium Shores/Ground Control Touring Showcase (SXSW)
April 3 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent ^
April 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley ^
April 5 – Santa Barbara, CA – Soho %
April 6 – Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar %
April 7 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo %
April 8 – San Diego, CA – The Loft %
* = with Deer Tick and Dawes
^ = with Blake Mills
% = with Jonny Corndawg
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