Videos by American Songwriter
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister
Nobody Dances In This Town
(Park the Van)r
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Los Angeles garage-folk troupe He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister has described their uniquely hybridized style of music as “glam-a-billy,” “vaudeville blues” and “flamboyant folk,” and in each case, the tag seems to fit perfectly. The five-piece band has a bluesy essence at its core, and a bit of an Americana twang, but on debut album Nobody Dances In This Town, those basic elements get filtered through a flashy, theatrical filter, coming out the other end a big-tent revival for misfits, roughnecks, troublemakers and outcasts. At its most upbeat and salacious, it’s a glorious thing, as on “Tales That I Tell,” in which singer Rachel Kolar tells her hard luck tales with a sexy, soulful sneer, over a Link Wray-via-Marc Bolan rhythmic rumble. At its slowest and most soulful, the band’s music finds a warm inspiration in the soothing sounds of gospel, as on the chorus of voices that fill “Wake Your Heart.” And in between, there’s a seemingly endless supply of fuzzed-out melodies and sing-along hooks, ensuring that no matter what one chooses to call the style of music that He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister plays, it’s guaranteed to be a hoot.
