With a sound that has it roots on back porches and around campfires, the quartet of the Harmed Brothers, (which does actually include two brothers) plays loose and easy and sing together with a certain abandon and a large sense of vitality. Their songs, all but one written by the quartet, have a rough-hewn quality that gives them a’ warts and all’ realness that is as attractive as it is no-frills. However there is no escaping the similarity of their sound to some of the early Avett Brothers recordings, although that should not affect enjoyment of their music in its own right.
Though they use acoustic instrumentation - banjo, guitar, ukulele and upright bass - the music has a rawness that pure bluegrass fans may find a little off the well-beaten cover songs track for their tastes. But if you have a more open mind then the wide possibilities of their acoustic music and original songs, which could just as easily find themselves in an electric setting, then the Harmed Brothers will be a pretty safe bet. The are also capable of a softer delivery as in the harmonies and simpler delivery of We Might Not Have To Die or in the piano used on The Water Is Sweeter or the catchiness of the folky Letter To Lisa. The four piece band’s latest album should be taken and enjoyed as it was intended. Note: only four people were Harmed in the making of this album. They undoubtedly enjoyed the experience, as you should.