July 17, 2006 | Posted by Blair at 9:52 AM

B&S (not Belle & Sebastian)

big sound

Brothers And Sisters - Without You

Brothers And Sisters are a big band, literally. They've got eight members, thus sprawling out on stage, but their sound is remarkably tight as a country-inflected indie rock band. They immediately remind me of great AM 70s rock, Beach Boys, the Band, and young so-cal stoner-rockers Dios (Malos) - Mark said it reminds him of Neil Young, or maybe CSNY, because of lead-singer Will's slightly cracked, high register vocals. My friend Shara turned me onto them, so I owe her a thank you for this.

I think they're really great - their self-titled album takes its time, developing a sound over its dozen tracks that goes back and forth from twanging and swinging, to sounding like Pet Sounds in all the right places. The band is led by real-life siblings Will and Lily Courtney, natives of southern Texas - Will spent some time in LA, but didn't get the scene out there and relocated to Austin to join his sister and start a band. Besides them, the rest of the family on the record is Daniel Wilcox, James Olsen, Dave Morgan, Greg McArthur, Marie Butcher, and on stage they're joined by Conrad Keely (the singer of…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead). The band have shared stages with their friends Okkervil River, The Court and Spark, The Tyde, and …Trail of Dead, and they're planning a US tour right now, with loads of dates in August. If they roll through your town, you should check them out - I know I want to!

Purchase the album here for just ten bucks! Well worth it and highly recommended.

Comments

Thanks for the rec. I just got the album yesterday and, once again, your thoughts are spot-on. A fucking great album, way better than I even hoped for.

Posted by: marc at July 21, 2006 5:26 PM

Just learned that Brothers and Sisters are coming to Albuquerque on August 8, at Burt's Tiki Lounge.
I bought their album several weeks ago,and I can't wait to hear 'em live!

Posted by: P.J. at July 26, 2006 1:05 PM
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