Trails of the Lonely

Most definitely not to be confused with the Brighton-based DJs trading under the same name, The Lost Brothers are Irish duo Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland – formerly of The 747s and The Basement, respectively, and obviously not real brothers at all.
Recorded in Portland, Oregon, under the stewardship of producer Mike Coykendale, their impressive debut features 16 acoustic folksy/bluesy songs about love, life and heartbreak. It’s a testament to their sheer originality and musical skill that many of these sound like familiar old standards.
They’ve rather unwisely chosen to include a little inane studio banter towards the end, which aggravatingly breaks the intimate musical spell they’d been casting, but let’s not hold that against them. Their playing is tight and accomplished, their harmonies are warm and memorable, and their words are melancholic and soothing.
The Lost Brothers sound like they’re right there in the room with you. They certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste but, if you have this album in your collection, you’ll never weep alone.