Irish duo The Lost Brothers keep it warm and sentimental on their third album “The Passing Of The Night” and giving people what they expect is unlikely to be a bad thing. Although not cursed with the wholesale infusion of the dustbowl trail that curses so many of their contemporaries in the Americana genre to mediocrity, this duo instead manage to make their music something of a comfort blanket. A Val Doonican – go on, Google him for he was pure genius at this type of thing – style comfort blanket at that.
Elements of folk music do creep in, as you might expect, but what sticks most in the old mind is how, much, vocally, they sound like Simon and Garfunkel before the fame got them, especially on the title track. Messrs Leech and McCausland have that same kind of naturalistic approach to harmonies that Messrs Simon and Garfunkel had with that deliberately close but not quite prefect approach making everything sound natural and unforced.
Having Brendan Benson and his band back them up only strengthens their case and eleven songs later, you can’t help wanting a seat in that rocking chair previously occupied by Val Doonican for “The Passing Of The Night” is that relaxing an album. So, while to many this album will be musical Ovaltine it is important to remember that a good night’s sleep is essential to your wellbeing.