Middle Brother

Add Date: February 22 

Artist: Middle Brother 

Album: Middle Brother 

Label: Partisan 

Genre: Folk, alt-country, folk rock 

Comments: Move over, Monsters of Folk, as another indie-folk supergroup has arrived. Featuring John McCauley (Deer Tick), Matthew Vasquez (Delta Spirit) and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Middle Brother's self-titled debut has arrived on Partisan Records. Much like the 2009 issue from M. Ward, Jim James, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, Middle Brother is a collection of really good songs from great musicians, if not a truly cohesive album.

But the best tracks on the LP certainly rival anything that the trio have done with their other bands. Perhaps because of his reedy, unmistakable voice, and perhaps because of his brilliance as a songwriter, the songs penned and sung by McCauley stand out, from album opener "Daydreaming" to mid-record standout "Me, Me, Me," and even including a song that he didn't write (a cover of The Replacements' "Portland"). Also try Vasquez's country stomp "Blue Eyes."