Canadian singer-songwriter siblings Matthew Barber and Jill Barber have likely made their parents proud, each finding solo success over the years. Now, the Barber clan has something new to beam about — the brother and sister duo have recorded a joint record. Aptly titled The Family Album, the collection is due out on April 1 through Outside Music.
The 12-song set contains some original songs from the pair, including a tribute to their mother's father — a Scottish relative they never met but nonetheless affectionately commemorate on "Grandpa Joe." "One True Love," "The Sweeter Dawn," "Today" and "Big Picture Window" are also original compositions, though they're supported with a selection of cover songs as well.
Gene MacClellan's "Song to a Young Seagull," Ian Tyson's "Summer Wages," Leonard Cohen's version of "The Partisan," Neil Young's "Comes a Time," Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" and Bobby Charles' "I Must Be in a Good Place Now" all get reworked by the Barber kids, putting a distinctly Canadian touch on some of Americana's finest. You can see the full tracklisting below.
"We are indebted to the songwriters, original performers and previous interpreters of these great songs as well as to the people in our lives who helped us discover them," Matthew said in a press release. "We hope we did them justice."
The album was mixed by Michael Piersante and engineered by Chris Stringer. It features a band that includes impressive players like Julian Brown (Feist), Dean Stone (Apostle of Hustle), Joey Wright (Sarah Harmer), Drew Jurecka (Stevie Wonder, Dave Brubeck) and Robbie Grunwald (Doug Paisley).
Jill Barber most recently released Fool's Gold in 2014, while Matthew Barber's last solo record was Big Romance that same year.
As an introduction to the Barbers' new material, listen to their take on "Comes a Time" in the player past the list of song titles.
The Family Album:
1. I Must Be In A Good Place Now
2. Song To A Seagull
3. One True Love
4. The Sweeter The Dawn
5. Today
6. Summer Wages
7. The Partisan
8. Big Picture Window
9. Grandpa Joe
10. If I Needed You
11. Comes A Time
The 12-song set contains some original songs from the pair, including a tribute to their mother's father — a Scottish relative they never met but nonetheless affectionately commemorate on "Grandpa Joe." "One True Love," "The Sweeter Dawn," "Today" and "Big Picture Window" are also original compositions, though they're supported with a selection of cover songs as well.
Gene MacClellan's "Song to a Young Seagull," Ian Tyson's "Summer Wages," Leonard Cohen's version of "The Partisan," Neil Young's "Comes a Time," Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" and Bobby Charles' "I Must Be in a Good Place Now" all get reworked by the Barber kids, putting a distinctly Canadian touch on some of Americana's finest. You can see the full tracklisting below.
"We are indebted to the songwriters, original performers and previous interpreters of these great songs as well as to the people in our lives who helped us discover them," Matthew said in a press release. "We hope we did them justice."
The album was mixed by Michael Piersante and engineered by Chris Stringer. It features a band that includes impressive players like Julian Brown (Feist), Dean Stone (Apostle of Hustle), Joey Wright (Sarah Harmer), Drew Jurecka (Stevie Wonder, Dave Brubeck) and Robbie Grunwald (Doug Paisley).
Jill Barber most recently released Fool's Gold in 2014, while Matthew Barber's last solo record was Big Romance that same year.
As an introduction to the Barbers' new material, listen to their take on "Comes a Time" in the player past the list of song titles.
The Family Album:
1. I Must Be In A Good Place Now
2. Song To A Seagull
3. One True Love
4. The Sweeter The Dawn
5. Today
6. Summer Wages
7. The Partisan
8. Big Picture Window
9. Grandpa Joe
10. If I Needed You
11. Comes A Time