Middle Brother: s/t

Label: Partisan

A lot can happen in a year: This rootsy trio played their first show at last year's SXSW in Austin and it went so well that—this album just got born. Co-starring Deer Tick's John McCauley but featuring Taylor Goldsmith and Matt Vasquez on equal footing—contributing songs and playing and, presumably, singing as well—Middle Brother's brand of new-generation Americana drapes over your ears like the proverbial flannel shirt on your shoulders. "Blue Eyes" (one of Vasquez's, though is that the more familiar voice of McCauley on lead?) has a loose barroom vibe, including a rollicking piano part ("Me, Me, Me" is another rave-up in this style), while Goldsmith's solo turn on "Wilderness" and Vasquez's "Theater" duke it out for the album's emotional high point. Fans of Deer Tick and quality American hand-made songwriting owe this baby a listen or three.