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Brothers Osborne Embrace Authenticity With New Self-Titled Album
“That’s why our album is self-titled… This is who we’ve been all along,” John Osborne, one half of the musical duo, shared.
Brothers Osborne; Photo by Katie Kauss
Brothers Osborne goes back to the basics with their highly-anticipated self-titled fourth studio album, which hit all music streaming platforms on Friday (September 15) via EMI Records Nashville.
“We’ve always had a lot of mystery intentionally around the things we have done,” TJ Osborne, one half of the musical duo, shared in a recent press release. “With this album, we decided to be all in, and doing that reminded me of what it was like when I first started playing music, when it was an outlet for my angst or just a way to have fun.”
“Since our last record, we’ve been very forthcoming with who we are,” John Osborne added. “By acknowledging TJ’s personal life and my mental health struggles, we are more ourselves creatively and publicly than we’ve ever been, so it’s time to lean into who we are.”
Enlisting a brand new producer and writing all of the tracks (alongside some of the best co-writers in Nashville), that is exactly what the GRAMMY Award-winning duo did with their forthcoming project, staying true to who they are at their core.
While Brothers Osborne channels exactly who the multi-platinum duo is with little to no limitations, it has not always been this way…
“In one way, life reflects art and art reflects life, as it should, so if your life changes, your art should also change with it,” John explained during a recent interview with Country Now and other media outlets. “Besides us being very vocal about our personal lives and exposing a lot about ourselves, it’s just been getting out there and performing and growing as writers as musicians as creators as performers… You just kind of learn, you don’t stay rigid, you evolve, you allow yourself to adapt to life, and your artistry should kind of grow along with it.”
“That’s why our album is self-titled,” the talented singer-songwriter continued, passionately. “This is who we’ve been all along, but also who we’ve become have seemed to kind of meet at this perfect intersection, and honestly, writing from that perspective, writing from a place of freedom and knowing less (if any) limitations, I hopefully think that we will only have a good, profound impact.”
Aside from being the most authentic body of work the Maryland natives have ever put out, Brothers Osborne is the most unique project the siblings have ever created sonically.
Although TJ’s unmistakable vocals and John’s resonant guitar work form the core of all 11 tracks on the album, it also incorporates moody synthesizers, captivating rhythms, and even a piano ballad, rendering this LP the award-winning duo’s most musically varied offering to date.
“This record has the widest spectrum of music we’ve ever done, but it’s also oddly lasered in on what it is that we do,” the country crooner pointed out. “You can really hear John and me and the characteristics that make us Brothers Osborne more than ever before.”
During the interview, John and TJ shared which songs on the project took them the furthest outside of their comfort zone.
“I guess the best way to do it would be to name two songs if that’s okay,” John prefaced, before revealing the two tracks that take the cake.
“One song being ‘Rollercoaster (Forever And A Day)’ that we have released already. It’s a piano ballad. We’re not known for piano. We’re not known for ballads in general, especially piano ballads that have strings… It’s all just TJ’s vocal. It’s very exposed, when a lot of our songs are kind of very guitar-centric and very guitar-forward,” he explained.
“On the opposite end of the spectrum is a song called ‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That,’ which has like disco strings and key changes and synthesizers and vocoders, and we just do everything. Everything that had a button in the studio, we put on that song, and that is like the widest range, and everything just finds itself right kind of tucked in the middle,” he continued.
“If you listen to those two songs, the common denominator is TJ’s vocal and my guitar, but they are very, very wide, and honestly, that’s one of my favorite things about it,” John concluded with a beaming smile.
To hear this project in its entirety, click HERE.
Written by
Melanie Rooten
Originally from Southern California and currently residing in Music City, Melanie graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism before beginning her career as a music and entertainment journalist. Beginning to write for Country Now in August of 2023, she has also contributed to Holler, Music Mayhem, Country Chord, Celeb Secrets, Celeb Secrets Country, We Got This Covered and Decider throughout her career thus far. When she is not writing, Melanie enjoys going to concerts and music festivals, binging her favorite television shows, spending time with her friends and family and cheering on the Oklahoma Sooners (of course).