Speak, Brother

"Certainly, the essence of folk washes through their music led by sharp acoustic cuts and strong hooks with even a touch of folk rock edge. However, this supremely tight band also delivers powerful lyrics, an intense anthemic-style and carefully crafted songs that exceed expectations, certainly for a hitherto unheard-of band." - Folk Words

Speak Brother have released their new 4 track self titled EP . The 3 piece Folk / Indie band, fronted by James Herring, were informally known as the James Herring Band until the end of 2013. Now, they take a joint musical leap forward together showcasing their own blend of the rising neo-folk scene, and make a massive impact on your musical collection.

The EP opens with the track 'Dry Bones' which is an instant classic and just an epic song. The raw folk sound and passion flows out of this song. What I enjoyed most is the urgency in the music, from that the vocals flow with style, making this a song that will instantly grow into one of your favorites.

The folk foot thumping style continues with 'Break In', but it's in this song that we really hear the strong vocals bringing everything together nicely. I really like how the band fuse together as a unit so well. Each plays it's part but together they sound as one.

The style and tempo of the song might be different, but 'Two Bands of Gold' is a sweet storytelling track. It's no easy task to write and record a song with just vocals and ukulele/mandolin and make it sound so powerful, and at the same time intimate to the listener, yet Speak Brother have managed to get that balance just right.

As this is a very folk based EP, the comparison will be made with them sounding like Mumford and Sons. That is a comparison the band can not get away from, but is that really a bad thing? Of course the band do have their own sound and it's the acoustic folk tones that makes this EP so beautiful. The EP goes from the hard foot thumping epic songs to the sweet intimate storytelling songs like 'My Love'.

This EP is stunning. You can tell Speak Brother have spent many long hours honing their songwriting and musical skills to produce these four top quality songs. They have managed to produce an EP to be very proud of. - Louder Than The Music