Absolutely wonderful and rockin' alt country from Middle Brother

There are few things better than discovering a new artist that you immediately love. I feel like it doesn't happen for me as often as I'd like, usually taking me a while to really get into someone new. However, last week I decided to check out an artist called Middle Brother, who released their self-titled debut album just over a week ago.

The band is comprised of members from three other groups (Deer Tick, Dawes, and Delta Spirit). I was aware of all three bands, but Deer Tick is the only one I had spent any amount of time listening to, and even with them my experience was limited. Despite this, I decided to give the album a listen (I think on Spinner.com/new-releases, which is one of my favorite sites for previewing new albums), and I only made it about 2 or 3 tracks in before I decided to just go buy the album. Since then, I've played the album probably 6 or 7 times in the last week, which is far more than I usually listen to one album in so short a time frame. I fully expect Middle Brother to be near the top of my favorite albums of the year list when 2011 wraps up. The one bad thing I can say about the band is that they may have one of the worst websites I have seen. Fortunately, their label picked up some of the slack with a more respectable page.

I can't decide on a favorite song from the album, but early possibilities are "Day Dreaming," "Thanks For Nothing," "Portland," and "Me, Me, Me." Below is a video of the band performing "Me, Me, Me" at a benefit concert for Invisible Children, a charity seeking to end the use of child soldiers in Uganda.

Middle Brother ♦ Me Me Me from Brandon Tauszik on Vimeo.

If, like me, you want to check out the three groups that led to this collaboration, the always amazing Daytrotter is your one-stop shop for all things pre-Middle Brother. They have multiple free sessions to download from all three groups. Links are below.

Deer Tick: May 2008, June 2009
Dawes: May 2009, July 2010
Delta Spirit: May 2007, April 2008, Feb 2009

Another music blog I read regularly, Everybody Taste, recently reviewed the album too and offered 2 of the songs for download. They seem to come to much the same conclusion that I did. The album is a treat even after repeated listens. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.