"QUEENS OF THE BREAKERS" THE BARR BROTHERS (2017)

A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.

Finding The Barr Brothers was one of the most glorious moments for me as a music fan. They had elements of familiarity – ones I couldn’t always quite put my finger on. But at the same time, they seemed to occupy a space all their own. Never contrived or boring. The guitars were often competing head to head with the harp, making sounds that seemed to to dig deep into my bones. When they promoted Queens Of The Breakers, I was fortunate to catch them as they passed through New York. They played a phenomenal set list that included the album’s title track.

“Queens Of The Breakers” possesses a carefree spirit, light in its musicality and sounds great in the live setting. It reminds me of Fleetwood Mac’s “Hold Me” with its high-soaring guitar riffs. The unpretentiousness and authenticity of the lyrics is something to behold. Lyrically, “Queens Of The Breakers” sounds more like a letter to an old lover than a rock song.

“On a red-eye flight from New York, I was looking for you down on the ground.”

"HIDEOUS GLORIOUS" THE BARR BROTHERS (2017)

I started Mental Jukebox nearly three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. During this time, I’ve discovered new music, rediscovered old favorites and I’ve met passionate music fans around the world. And when things opened up, I kept on blogging. This month, the jukebox goes deeper. The term “deep cut” has multiple meanings. It can refer to lesser known album tracks from well-known artists. It can also refer to tracks from lesser known artists. This month, I’ll be featuring both types. #DeepCutsFeb

Hailing from Montreal, The Barr Brothers are probably my favorite band from that region in Canada. I pick them ahead of Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and anyone else primarily because I always felt that their music was more real. I felt this from the beginning. And I still felt it with their last studio output Queens of the Breakers which was released in 2017. It is an album that I love listening to from beginning to end, and I was able to hear the band perform many of the tracks at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, including the deep cut track “Hideous Glorious”.

It is glorious indeed, and far from hideous. The kind of song that simply comes alive when it’s played live. Many of the hallmarks of The Barr Brothers sound make their appearances on this track. Soaring harmonies. Atmospheric guitar lines. The occasional, understated guitar solo. And lyrics as human as human gets. Queens of the Breakers made a little noise in the indie rock scene with “Song That I Heard” and “You Would Have To Lose Your Mind”. But it’s the deep tracks like “Hideous Glorious” that I love best.

“Did you come here for the truth? Did you come here to tighten it down or turn it loose?”

"YOU WOULD HAVE TO LOSE YOUR MIND" THE BARR BROTHERS (2017)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #SeptSongLyricChallenge

Day 21

The night I saw The Barr Brothers at Williamsburg Music Hall in 2017, I felt like my entire being was floating up into the night sky. There’s a buoyancy in the band’s songs that I find no use in resisting. I just let the songs take me wherever they will. The Queens of the Breakers album uses every element in its arsenal to achieve this outcome. The reverb-soaked vocals. The calculating bass lines. The hypnotic harp work. And the words, they do wonders for your soul if you have a few minutes to spare.

“Loosen up and lose your mind. You never know what you could find on the other side. A hundred thousand butterflies floating in the orange skies above my head.”

"LOVE AIN'T ENOUGH" THE BARR BROTHERS (2014)

“Love Ain’t Enough” is a closer. The kind of song that sends you off on a high after soaking in a killer show. In reality, though, The Barr Brothers have used it early on in their set lists or sometimes not at all. But it’s the kind of driving musicality that lifts your spirits. The twist is that the lyrics resolutely claim that love is enough. The song holds power—using unexpected elements like the harp and falsetto vocals to harness it.

“Love is enough when you don't look back.”

"YOU WOULD HAVE TO LOSE YOUR MIND" THE BARR BROTHERS (2017)

I got to see these guys perform one night in 2017. I thought Queens of the Breakers was a strong album, but then hearing it live, well, it was transcendent. That night at Williamsburg Hall, there was an ethereal feeling in the air as music was made and as we marveled at the beautiful and unexpected marriage of harp and guitar. And “You Would Have to Lose Your mind” was my favorite. Folk. Blues. Rock. Experimental. It had it all.

“You never know what you could find on the other side. All of the things that made you feel better.”