If Bonnie 'Prince' Billy decides he's going to do a cover album of Everly Brothers hits, you just run with it. When he enlists the support of Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy to share in their innate love of the brothers' harmonic majesty, the endeavour is all the more enticing. But this isn't a straight-up record of nostalgic revelry – What The Brothers Sang is more about bringing the duo into the 21st century. The 13 tracks on offer stand as a tableau of reverence, designed to nurture their existence whilst also inspiring new generations coming dewy-eyed to their work.
The tracks have been gleaned from farther reaches than the iconic 20 Golden Greats, so for every DNA-ingrained classic (a Devoted To You lullaby) there are three lesser-known songs on offer. There are the obligatory “covers of covers,” the Everly Brothers often taking others' compositions and imbuing them with spirit, veracity and light. The album opens with the Kris Kristofferson-penned Breakdown, a melancholy waltz through the dusty barrooms of Americana, McCarthy in particular never sounding more resonant; and closes with Kentucky, hushed and arresting. Other highlights are the Southern soar of Omaha and swirling psych country of Just What I Was Looking For.
McCarthy and BPB don't try to imitate the Everlys' harmonies, rather embracing their own iconic timbres in a warm, intimate and loving tete-a-tete that completely does the source material justice. When The Brothers Sang shows its hand in its album title – this isn't about offering a carbon copy, but taking loving memories and melding them with the present to create something personal that resonates long after the last note is struck.
