Pawn Shop
Brothers Osborne
(EMI Nashville)
Three-and-a-half stars
Brothers Osborne open their first full-length album, Pawn Shop, with the slinky sting of John Osborne's slide guitar, set against younger brother T J Osborne's sinewy baritone, which finds a slow-rolling rhythm of its own.
Right away, on the song Dirt Rich, the duo from the coast of Maryland, a working-class area, establish a slyly funky style of their own.
Working with producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town), the brothers create a distinctive sound rooted in bluesy country soul, yet wholly modern and engaging.
The duo previously released a five-song EP and had a top-five hit last year with the Grammy-nominated Stay a Little Longer, which is included here. So is Rum and It Ain't My Fault, which is as clever as any night-gone-wild tune that country music has offered since the heyday of Alan Jackson and Toby Keith.
The songs rely heavily on lighthearted wordplay, with a few exceptions.
The low point is wrapped in the shallow clichés of American Crazy, which can't be saved by T J's passionate performance.
However, Loving Me Back, a powerful duet with Lee Ann Womack, suggests there is plenty more to come from these admirable country upstarts.
artslife@thenational.ae
