The Civil Wars

Oh, what a lovely war! And oh, what a morose back story. Last November Joy Williams and her songwriting partner and close friend John Paul White were in the middle of a European tour. The tour was suddenly cancelled and so was the relationship, due as much to the standard "internal discord" as to the not-so-standard "irreconcilable differences of ambition". The two haven't spoken since, which lends this album (the follow-up to their 2011 debut, Barton Hollow) levels of melancholic tone and shade. Written and recorded prior to the split, The Civil Wars is suffused with both grounded emotions and highly strung tension; voyeuristic it may be, but with songs of such calibre as Same Old Same Old, Sacred Heart and Dust to Dust, the aptly named album and (as it stands) on-ice duo lays their collective heart on the line. Tread carefully, y'all. thecivilwars.com
Download: Same Old Same Old, Dust to Dust