The Sumner Brothers

"a standout", "Country meets folk (Townes Van Zandt-style) meets rock" - The Province Newspaper

"crazy good" - Slowcoustic.com

"a classic Canadian album " - Vancouver Music Review

"in a class of its' own" "five stars" I wouldn't be at all surprised if this 5 star album ends up in my top 20 all time" - Americanrootsuk.com

"smacks you right across the face as if to say, “Hey dumbass, wake up." - Hearya.com

Best of Vancouver 2012 - A Triumph - The Georgia Straight

The sepia tone of the album graphic recalls another time, and the Sumners' brand of roots-rock seems to come from the era of not only Hank Williams but Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. There is a sense of morality that resonates through their spare take on folk, country and rock.

Tom Harrison
The Province - The Province

The Sumner Brothers are, in my opinion, the most talented band
Vancouver (if not Canada) has seen in a long time. They are true
artists - great singers, brilliant songwriters, with the musical
chops and soul to boot. I was so happy to come across them at a
time when I had become more than a little disillusioned with what was
passing for good roots music around Vancouver - their music
reinspired me and reinvigorated my interest in the kind of music they
play. Their sound is so pure, so honest, and so GOOD. Seeing
them live is a revelation; listening to their recordings is a
profound experience. What they have to offer is more than
entertainment - it's medicine.

Sam Parton
The BGTs - The Be Good Tanyas

REVIEWS:: THE SUMNER BROTHERS SELF-TITLED LP

I recently moved back to Halifax and one of the best things about coming home after 8 years is the chance to be around my dad again. Unbeknown to him, he helped shape my musical tastes with his obsession with Willie Nelson, George Jones (we shared the same haircut), Merle Haggard and Al Green. My childhood memories involve long car rides fueled by the sadness of these terrific artists, despite my constant attempts to throw hip hop into the ole tape deck.

Years later, I can finally appreciate the music he loves and find myself looking through his stacks of records whenever I head over to see him and mom. While you might think that introduction is odd, after hearing the new record by Surrey, British Columbia’s The Sumner Brothers, I’m taken back to those childhood car rides.

The Sumner Brothers (Brian and Bob) do a remarkable job of bridging the gap between past and present. Even the most stringent Willie Nelson fan would be challenged to find fault in songs like Yea Blue and Say you'll always be mine and the steady as a freight train rhythm of Liar Liar certainly make a listener think of the man in black, but The Sumner Brothers are more than just a trip to the past. Like a precious few bands making great music today (The Avetts and The Felice Brothers come to mind), the Sumners are able to put their own spin on the sounds that influence their music. Replacing acoustic with electric guitar helps, but it the shots of well placed energy that help keep this album moving.

The Sumner Brothers are at their best when the heartache of depression and desolation reaches critical mass, but they control the record well. Spiking tracks with anger filled strums (Both Back) or honky tonked, full band foot stompers (Girl in the Window), they seem to be able to comfort you in your search for the bottom of your beautiful bottle (Pain, Stone Hearted Lover), make you sway with long bending steel notes (the epic Ticket to Ride) and still make you sweat as you hoist pint glasses on the dance floor.

I'm not sure how I never heard of this band when I lived in Vancouver, but I'm certainly sad to know they played shows in my neck of the woods and I never had the chance to see them. This self-titled record may not be for everyone, but for country roots fans, the emotion and gruff harmonies they deliver on the beautiful My Words are just the thing to fuel your isolation as rain, snow and red wine take over from sun, smiles and patio drinks.

Herohill - Herohill.com

A couple of years ago, I received an invite on Myspace from a group calling themselves the Sumner Brothers. I hit the link, figuring I’d give them at least a second or two to prove themselves. Before I knew it, I had listened to all their songs. There was something about that voice, the spare and primitive sound of the accompanying music.

Now I know how Sam Phillips felt when Johnny Cash stumbled in off the streets guitar in hand for an audition. If I had to come up with a single word to describe what I felt and heard, the word is gravity. Dense, heavy songs sucked me in, like traveling too near a black hole, I got sucked in; the Sumner brothers made me listen, made me think, made me see, made me feel. This ain’t no novel, by God, it’s non-fiction. Real, bleeding, pissing, moaning, crying, pleading, questioning, bone breaking, eye-gouging, ear-biting, down in the dirt fighting for your life kind of music, written from somewhere near total despair, but with a frightening amount of inner strength and peace despite the circumstance.

Two years have passed. I put in their CD’s and I feel that same weight. There’s a spiritual quality to the men and their songs, not some church going “ain’t Jesus wonderful kind of stuff”, but truth and in your face honesty. Embracing life on this planet as it is rather than how you’d like for it to be, yet tempered with hope and even a note of certainty that something better is yet to rise from this dark and miserable place. That justice prevails in the end. Johnny Cash had this same quality. Makes me wonder if somehow or other, these young men didn’t inherit a measure of the man’s spirit when he departed.

A jaunt through their cds is like traversing the five levels of grief associated with dying, perhaps due to the condition of the world into which they were born. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. It’s amazing how in this day and time, one can’t really treasure life and its real treasure until he or she accepts the fact that we’re royally fucked. Because royally fucked, we are.
If you think you’ve seen or heard dark before, I challenge you to go the Sumner brother’s website and listen to Brian and his guitar, describing a true story from the war in Iraq. My blood ran cold.

Bob and Brian Sumner hail from British Columbia, Canada. They’re young, rugged looking, country boy types. No rhinestones, permed hair, polyester suits or fake cowboy hats. Looking at them, they could pass for loggers. You’ve likely never heard of them. They have a loyal following in their home territory but rarely stray far from home. I’m hoping to change that.
At the very least, I’m hoping you will give their music a listen. They have two CDs out. The first is called In the Garage. The second is a self-titled work and features better production quality than the first, but if I’m recommending, (and I am), start with the first one. It’s crude, spare, somewhat primitively produced and damned good.
I’ve done my part. Now, someone needs to figure out how to bring these boys to Texas. The Sumner Brothers will take over from there. - Lonestar Magazine

The Sumner Brothers - raw, unrefined, primitive, unpolished and gritty...
So when I got a request from the Sumner Brothers, I went though the motions. British Columbia. OK. I listened to the first song. Interesting. Then the second. The third; finally the last. That last song was good. I watched a video on their Myspace Site. Brian Sumner and a guitar, singing about a soldier gone wild in Iraq. Rapes and kills a young girl and her family. Sets fire to the whole lot with a can of gasoline. The song isn’t good. It’s horrible. But I’m goddmaned if I don’t agree with what he says. Some things, can not, must not, will not be hidden or covered up. I don’t care if there’s a heaven for all the fine men: I just hope there’s justice for them. I bought both of their CDs. They’re raw, unrefined, primitive, unpolished, gritty. Spiritual undertones add heft to the words. The tunes are spare, the production amateurish. And very, very good. Honesty, courage, moral fiber cannot easily be hidden or disguised. These guys have it. Now I know what it felt like to have a young Johnny Cash wander in from the street with a guitar. - Americanaroots.com

Vancouver-based roots quartet the Sumner Brothers (Brian Sumner, lead vocals, guitars, banjo, harmonica, Bob Sumner, lead vocals, acoustic guitars, backing vocals, Mike Ardagh, drums, and James Meger, electric and upright bass) showcase a wide variety of talents and various influences on their second, self-titled release.

The brothers ride a rustic, earthy rural groove that's akin to a multitude of venerable musical soul-mates, ranging from The Louvin Brothers to early Johnny Cash to The Band, Dylan, The Scud Mountain Boys, and Steve Earle, just to name a few, but their ouvre' is undeniably original in both style and content. This album features eight stand-out cuts written by the Sumners, a delightful pair of Carter Family covers, and one traditional number.

The siblings share both song-writing and lead singing duties throughout this disc, each with his own unique lyrical and vocal approach. Brian tends to favor bittersweet, life-ravaged tales of loss and heartbreak, his deep, distinct voice delivering urgent personal foot-stompers and shaky, gorgeous ballads with equal aplomb. Bob leans toward skewed, heartfelt love songs and eerie, visceral yarn spinnin' in a slightly higher register, and when the pair share the mic, the result is nothing short of stunning.

The record opens with the skittery, shack-shakin' swamp rocker "Both Back," a song penned and sung by Brian that ostensibly deals with the loss of his parents and his realization that his own daughter will someday undergo the same tribulations he's experienced. "I want him back, I want them both back," he growls over slightly off-kilter, gritty electric guitar, then ends the raucous rant with a dire warning: "I'll throw you down the stairs/Jump on your chest/If I knew you had a part, if I knew what was best/I want him back, I want them both back/I know it's too late, everything I love is gonna be taken away."

"Pain" follows, Brian delivering a woeful, soul-stirring and universal message in a Cash-esque rumble perfectly balanced by nimble, electrifying pickin' and plain-spoken lyrics that ring true-blue: "I better look over what I've got 'cause it won't last long/I better look over what I got/Long live pain..." This song manages to transcend any easy genre classification or off-the-cuff description, and could probably best be described as a gentle, viciously biting personal anthem.

Bob weighs in next on "My Words," a delicate, born-to-run ballad filled with world-wise, death-be-damned lyricism- "Directionless and stunned and my faith is dead/But good times they come and this road I know/A little dust and cold never hurt no one/So pack your bags, baby and that's a fact/I believe we've got ourselves a train to catch." He shares his brother's knack for capturing fascinating, timeless musical snapshots, and when Brian's voice wends its' way in to the mix, the cut almost becomes larger-than-life.

Produced (delicately and with obvious respect for the artists' own inimitable musical identities) by Derek Difilippo and recorded at "Ben Brown's Cabin" on Galliano Island in B.C., this collection of down-home, back-woods folk/rock/country joints is one of those rare recorded efforts that magically retains the group's front-porch pickin' qualities and sounds as if they're physically sitting a few feet away from the listener. Bandmates Ardagh and Meger provide a spot-on, tandem rhythm section that's so powerful and empathetic one could easily assume they're family members as well.

The traditional "Yeah Blue," which covers the life and loss of a beloved canine pal, rolls out with hypnotic strummin' and croonin', further showcases Bob's easy-going, sublime vocal delivery, and sets the stage for a pair of tight, delightfully re-interpreted A.P. Carter cuts.

"You Better Let That Liar Alone" jumps, jives, crashes and whirls with a sinfully-delicious twist, and finds the band collaborating in perfect unity, while Brian's authentic delivery of the spiritual "Way Worn Traveler" establishes this outfit's high esteem for their forebears with an emphatic exclamation point.

Bob's "Say You'll Always Be Mine" is a haunting, romantic plea for eternal love and understanding from a life-partner bolstered by keening mandolin licks courtesy of Sam Parton, and includes dizzying, memorable couplets such as, "Well Babe I know I got a hard hard head/And babe I know I got a tongue that would leave folks blind/And babe if I let you down one more time/Would they, would they still call you mine?"

Brian's stark, easy take on "Two Hands" recalls Johnny Cash interpreting a pain-wracked Kristofferson composition, proving once again that his "less-is-sometimes-best" musical approach is one of his most effective artistic weapons, as well as providing a note-perfect lead-in to Bob's lap steel-augmented "Ticket To Ride," a high-lonesome, hill-country story that covers a wide range of topics, including homelessness, crimes of desperation, ruined Vietnam War vets, and the unfaithful kiss of Judas himself.

The collection winds down with the catchy blast of Bob's bouncy, backside-of-the-batwing-doors reading of "Girl In The Window," an alternately humorous and tragic ditty concerning vanity and blind conformity that could be heard from the point of view of a New Orleans madame or Hollywood's latest "it girl" over a Dylan-meets-Steve-Earle groove.

The song literally blazes like a saloon on fire and drives home this band's awe-inspiring musical aptitude and inspirational gift for embracing, nurturing, and delivering a multitude of genre-defying, from-the-gut material that stands as a formidable testament to their bone-deep belief in themselves and the power of song. Highly recommended - this is one you'll be kicking yourself for not listening to in a year or so, guaranteed. - Round The Dial

Their music is about light, though it is not afraid to explore the dark. Their music is about hope, but it does not ignore despair. It’s a mournful Johnny Cash, a repentant Willie Nelson, a reflective Stompin Tom. It’s the power of boozy sincerity and hopped-up honesty, and that, brothers and sisters, I can get behind - 24hrs News

I’m going to start off this year with an interview from a band I wrote about here last year, The Sumner Brothers. Last year I wrote about In The Garage a week or two before the release of their self-titled album. Although the latter album has some of the tracks from the afore mentioned In The Garage, Pain, Both back and My Words being three, apart from a couple of A.P Carter tracks and an old traditional song called Yeah Blue, they have taken away the covers their music has obvious nods towards and have added more of their own compositions, Say You’ll always be mine and Two Hands being two but an obvious stand out track being Ticket to ride, A song I could imagine the late Johnny Cash singing on his last album just before he sadly died.

As i’ve said in the past I just love the honesty these guys show in their songwriting and that’s all backed up by the emotion you can hear in their voices. With another release to come in 2009 this band I’m sure are going to mature into one of the best country/folk/roots bands around, If they are not already.

So, If you have received a cdbaby voucher for Christmas or you are taking back a cd you already have, You will not go far wrong by picking up this album, infact why not buy both at the same time and play them back to back while you read through this interview that Brian has kindly granted YCD?

YCD – You’ve now released In the garage and your self-titled album, How
were they received?

SB – they were both well received……we were a little surprised that our
first album “in the garage” was as well received as it was……. we
recorded that one in our garage with an 8 track and an assortment of
old beat up 58’s ……. we plan on making a string of “in the garage”
albums but i doubt they will ever sound like that one.

YCD – You seem very much in touch with the traditions of country music,
is this the kind of music you grew up with?

SB – not exactly……we’re suburban kids …we ended up listening to
everything……literally …hip-hop, rock, blues, jazz, classical,
..you name it…….we really took to country music when Johnny Cash
started making his “American” recordings…..i think we adopted
country music for ourselves because of the simplicity of it…….we
liked the idea that you could write a song in the afternoon and
perform it that night……when it was still fresh….and that country
music is a lyrics first form…..since then we’ve met a ton of people
performing this kinda music and really started to learn the history of
it from the inside out…..from the storytellers themselves.

YCD – What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t making music?

SB – working a day job and trying to start a business…..i’ve had a couple
ideas over the years……but music takes all my time now……and i’m
happy with that

YCD – When a journalist told Townes Van Zandt that his songs were sad his
reply was that although some were, most were full of hopelessness. I
get the same feeling when listening to some of your songs like Pain or
Both Back, the latter I know is about wanting your grandfathers back
with you. Writing that, was it some kind of healing process?

SB – no…..it’s hard to explain …i’ve never found writing to help with
the healing process…..if anything ..eveytime i perform these songs
it hurts…..so it’s kinda like digging at old wounds….but the only
other option is to forget entirely and that doesn’t seem right
either…..my best friend passed away about a year ago and i never
wrote about it…….it wouldn’t help me to heal…..i’m better off
just not thinking about it.

there’s a difference between Townes outlook in his songs and ours.
Townes was depressed……and his sense of hopelessness came from there
My Brother and I love life……and despise death……and that is
where our sense of hopelessness comes from

YCD – Ok, first non- musical question. What did you think last time you
looked in the mirror?

SB - can’t remember ……something along the lines of ..women are %&^$%$^ nuts

YCD – If there is one song you could steal and claim it as your own for
ever which one would you choose and why?

SB – o holy night
it’s that time of year and that’s my favorite Christmas
song…….imagine the competition?

YCD – Given the amount of emotion and honesty in your music, is it
important to you that you write songs separately as I notice there
doesn’t seem to be any co-written tracks on either album?

SB -I think it would be difficult. …..we both want to say what we want
to say when we want to say it….we’re both stubborn and wouldn’t take
to well to someone telling us it doesn’t sound right….or it might be
offensive….etc. besides…………..
we spend so much time together working on the business of the band
….arranging songs and rehearsing…..drinking on weekends…. that i
think we’d be stretching it trying to put the time into trying to

write songs together….eventually………it’d be fun to try

YCD – What’s your best musical experience so far and why?

SB – We played a show in Portland a couple years back …..we were setting
up and couldn’t get the p.a. to work properly ….it started squealing
like mad and randomly….people were getting angry…shouting things
and eventually leaving…….we decided to forgo the p.a. and busk the
room……we just yelled out the tunes……it was a big room but my
brother and i have loud voices …….by the time we had finished
everyone had come back from the adjacent room……i think everyone
got a kick out of it.

in reality it’s probably just drinking baileys and coffee then moving
on to beer …..working on new songs in the garage with my brother
i never get tired of it

YCD – What’s currently rocking your stereo?

SB - Phil Saylor Wisor – “Since Jimmy Died”
we’ve toured with Phil a couple times
he plays with the same conviction and passion whether he’s playing for
2 people or a hundred.

YCD - You seem like a very close family unit, have you ever written a
song about each other, either privately or openly?

SB – can’t speak for my brother …..i haven’t ……it could be
dangerous….we’re both too honest…..and we both have faults

YCD – Another silly one now. If you could play any part in any movie
past or present who or what would it be and why?

SB – you should have asked me “if i had to”. …….i wouldn’t want any
part of any movie…..acting is hard work…i’ve had one
experience…….i remember being an extra once when i was a
kid…..it was a rain scene……the only way rain shows up on camera
apparently is if it’s raining un-realistically hard…….and
cold?……but everyone had to be dry at the beginning of the scene
and soaking wet at the end of the scene…. we had to change our
clothes everytime they had to re- shoot it ….they shot it all day
….for like 8 hours….it was torture.

YCD – What are your hopes and fears for you in the future, musically?

SB – I want to be able to play music and raise a family
that’s it. My fear would be that i wouldn’t be able to do that…..we’ve been
told that it’s almost impossible…. we don’t believe it.

YCD -There is a video on your myspace page of a song called I don’t care if there’s a
heaven which when I first heard I cried. It’s not on either album, any
particular reason for that?

SB – that song is almost universally misinterpreted………most people
think it’s an anti-war song……or an anti-american song….or
something along those lines…….it’s not…….the song is about a
very specific situation…..something that actually happened …..that
song.. for me takes place in a vacuum….i wasn’t trying to comment on
the bigger picture ..i wasn’t taking any of that into
account……….having said all that……..my brother and i have
hundreds of songs….when we go to make an album we record tons of
them….then we see which ones are working ……and which ones are
working in the context of the album…..i’m sure we will release it in
one form or another eventually

YCD – And Finally, what’s your plans for this year?

SB – we’re working on a new album……..we’re more than excited about
it……we holed up in a cabin for this one like we did for the
last……so it’s got that sound…. that intangible which really
helps to tie an album together…….i don’t think you can record the
sound of late nights…..booze….friendship……loneliness
etc……without actually being there……not that this is the only
way to record an album ….we’re just happy with it for now.

Thankyou very much for granting YCD this interview and we all wish you all success for 2009 and many years beyond.

As you can already grab Pain from my first post here, with their permission I am just uploading one track here, Just go buy the fucking album here will you’s, these guys are trying to make a living here !! - You Crazy Dreamers

I must begin this review with a confession: I am very weary of contemporary country. It seems that what gets churned out of the Nashville machine is either too “boo hoo” or too “Yee Haw” for this correspondent’s liking and my reviews tend to reflect this. That being said, the new self-titled album from The Sumner Brothers has turned Nashville pop on its ear and offers a snapshot of both what country once was and can still be. And here’s the kicker, I’m not even sure if its “country.”
The Vancouver outfit features elements of Americana, dirty blues and alt country rendering a genreless amalgam of styles all told through a storytellers yarn. The musicality comes through a tireless amount of arrangements, from toe-tapping barnburners to down-tempo swayable ballads. Lyrically, the content is as proletariat as can be; gruff workingman stories with boundless universal lessons. The songwriting and lyrical delivery these guys muster is ridiculously good.
The album standout “Both Back” is a lamentable outcry over the loss of family and sounds like it would fit nicely on a John Spencer Blues Explosion album. Lyrically and musically the whole of the track resonates of dirty, raw, gritty earthiness but the final product is testament that the proper essence of the thing was captured. “Pain” is a demure ballad of electri-fried guitar picking that bolsters Brian’s low-octave lyrical grumble. It is a thinking man’s song reminiscent of Cash at his best. Bob assumes lead vocals on “My Words” another down-tempo ballad of visceral lyrical content. The scant brush drum strokes and backing guitar picks allow the track to stand on its merit as well as play to its strength—vocal delivery. When both brothers harmonize on the chorus the song assumes another depth all together.
Again, so far removed is this from Nashville, I am not sure you can even label it country. Over the breadth of the album you’re sure to hear your fave country standouts, but that’s only because they are The Sumner Brothers fave standouts as well. So, careful not to hang a yoke around their necks, I’ll just label this “eclectic, damn good and for this writer, perhaps country’s saviors.” - Skope Magazine