Murdered by the Moore Brothers

The Moore Brothers' fourth full-length maintains the stripped-down sound of the last couple records, with acoustic guitars (and the occasional piano or drum kit) backing the brothers' sweet vocals. The songwriting duties are split exactly in half with Greg responsible for the odd numbered tunes and Thom the evens. Each brother has turned in a batch of his finest work to date, resulting in a wonderfully rich and moody album, very autumnal and intimate, with hints of nostalgia ("Bury Me Under the Kissing Teens"), heartbreak ("Girl with a Light"), the end of summer ("The Face"), and solitude ("I Let Myself Go"). Not exactly cheery subjects, but the brothers managed to stave off the gloom through the use of their magical vocal harmonies. No matter how far down the lyrics or minor chord melodies take you, those intertwined voices lift you right back up. Along with the usual Simon & Garfunkel comparisons (well deserved as they are) the record has a feel very similar to that of early Everly Brothers demos where it was just the two brothers, a guitar, some reverb, and perfectly matched, absolutely gorgeous vocals. Of course the Everlys proceeded to add more instruments to their tunes and made history. It's hard to tell if more instrumentation might have improved this record. All that is certain is that what the Moore Brothers came up with on Murdered by the Moore Brothers is a lovely melancholy dream.