Brothers and Sisters
Fortunately

Release Date: Aug 19, 2008

It’s been a while since a good country album has come out of Texas. Most of modern country rock has been emerging in states where cowboys never traveled in fields of grain and longhorns might be a football team and not a type of cattle. The Austin band Brothers and Sisters have sought to reverse that trend. With a self-titled album already under their belts, the band has come back with their sophomore album Fortunately. Real life brother and sister Will and Lily Courtney lead the way into a great country rock album full of heartache, love and whiskey.

Brothers and Sisters don’t have a unique sound per se, but they know how to use it to enhance their lyrics. They have an indie rock sound combined with the sweet twang of country. It’s a little different than the normal country rock genre, but not so much so that it’s something completely new. Many of the songs have a similar beat, tempo, or sound to them, which gives the album cohesion - but at the same time it makes it hard to tell songs apart from each other. “That’s How it Goes” has this dreamy echo effect to the guitar which makes it easier to stand out on Fortunately, but it’s still similar to other slower tracks such as the one preceding it “California”.

Despite this weakness, Brothers and Sisters are able to still create a great album. The Courtneys’ song writing is the strongest part of Fortunately. The whole album is scattered with themes of love, loss and relationships old and new; but none of them sound mushy or typical. Will’s voice becomes something more than words within a song because of the strength of the lyrics. They are simple but filled with emotion, giving it more meaning than some other country songs with subjects pertaining to tractors and dead dogs. On the track “Make a Man’s Body Hurt”, Will Courtney sings about learning how to love again after having his heart broken. It’s never corny or cliché, and Courtney’s words ring true to those who have experienced a broken heart. Their lyrics are sincere and simple. Each line is something we’ve felt before, such as the verse “The dreams we’ve been dreamin,’ it’s so damn hard to know you don’t believe it now.” The album closer “Fortunately” is another good example of this trend. Will and Lily’s voices blend together with the echoed guitar to make a haunting end to Fortunately.