Supplied
John and TJ Osborne
Brothers Osborne fans know what to expect from their live shows: Loud country music that feels like pure rock and roll.
From start to finish, a Brothers Osborne show delivers booming vocals on anthemic songs, face-melting guitar licks, and a rowdy good time. With that in mind, the Brothers—TJ and John Osborne—set out to make their third studio album, Skeletons, a celebration of their live performances.
Complete with a track list that plays like a setlist and their entire band in the studio for the recording process. The Jay Joyce produced album, available October 9, was in fact the first time Brothers Osborne included their touring band on a record. But judging by the results it won’t be the last.
“We’re a duo, John and I, but we treat our music a lot like a band—especially with the live shows. We’ve been on the road touring [with this band] for years, and it allowed us to have this collective consciousness on the album,” says TJ. “From the very first downbeat of the very first song you could hear it. The camaraderie was really good.”
Brothers Osborne's new album Skeletons, out October 9.
That camaraderie makes the album feel like a Brothers Osborne concert—even if we can’t attend one right now.
“We wanted to make a record that we can cherry pick any song and put it in our set and it’s going to work,” says John. “The irony being that we can’t play live right now.”
Irony is an understatement. A band that puts most of their stock in touring made an album for the express purpose of playing it live and released it into a socially distant world.
“For us, it’s always been about the live show,” says TJ. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re not the kind of people who say radio isn’t important—it is—but it’s not the entire vibe. Though right now it is.”
Luckily the songs on Skeletons translate just as well at home as they will on stage. The opening notes of the title track are almost as chill inducing through speakers as they are in person. With a moody vibe and a defiant attitude, the song is a musical accusation told from the perspective of a man done wrong. TJ’s deep vocals and John’s precise guitar skills make the song even more dramatic, especially as TJ snarls the chorus, “you’ve got skeletons in your closet and I’ve got bones to pick with them.”
The song’s darker tone made it a pitch-perfect choice to be the album’s namesake.
“When we recorded that song, we knew no matter what, one hundred percent it was going on the album,” says John. “We loved the attitude; we loved the lyrics. It just felt right. That song led us in the direction of the other songs.”
The album’s opening track “Lighten Up” is a stage-ready rocker punctuated by gritty, swaggering vocals on each verse and a singalong chorus that beckons the crowd to put their lighters in the air. With lyrics that suggest a raucous RX for whatever’s ailing you, it’s a not-so-subtle notice that it’s not only OK to let go of the world’s problems for a minute and let yourself relax, it’s necessary.
“We wanted to kick the record off with that song so we could tell the listener, ‘Hey it’s a crazy world we’re living in, so just put this record on and forget about your troubles for 50 minutes and relax. You’ll have plenty of time to take care of them tomorrow,” says John. “That song is a reminder to give yourself a break.”
At the album’s midpoint is “Muskrat Greene,” a musical interlude that finds John and the band weaving through two and a half minutes of a pure, unadulterated jam session. Teetering on the cusp between rock and country, it’s the kind of song you’d know better than to miss for a beer break. It rolls right into another barnburner, “Dead Man’s Curve,” a fast-talking story song that finds TJ offering a warning about a girl—and her father—who is not to be trifled with. It’s true that the songs on Skeletons are tailor-made for a live show, but in creating the perfect songs for an audience, Brothers Osborne have also made their most cohesive studio album to date.
“I love that we made an album that was so different from the previous two, and I hope that’s what we continue to do—that every album is a different era,” TJ says. “It’s hard to pick a favorite song off of it.” Adds John, “This is by far my favorite record that we’ve made.”