The Barr Brothers

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It’s been eight years since Montreal’s The Barr Brothers released a full-length album. In that time, life pulled them in new directions – personally and professionally – altering the way they make music together. Their fourth studio album, Let it Hiss, isn’t just a new collection of songs. It’s a document of transformation. The making of this record marked a pivotal shift: a pause for reflection, a reckoning with vulnerability, and a reconnection between the two brothers who’ve spent over three decades making music side by side.

“In 2022, we found ourselves at a breaking point,” says Brad Barr, the band’s guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter. “It was clear something had to change. The real story of this record is the story of that change and everything that came after.”

“Let it Hiss is what happened when we stopped pretending everything was fine and finally listened to what was actually going on”, says Andrew.

Certainly, Let it Hiss foregrounds a sense of joyous abandon that wasn’t as perceptible on previous Barr Brothers records—you can hear it in the open-road anthem “Run Right Into It” (featuring Land of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell) and the playful garage-band reggae of “She Doesn’t Sleep With the Covers On.” But Let it Hiss doesn’t completely abandon the intimate storytelling on which the Barrs’ brand was built: “English Harbour” is a gorgeous folk hymn illuminated by harmonies from former tour mate Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and “Moonbeam” is a lush, string-swept soul serenade given an extra touch of class by a Francophone guest vocal from Quebecois art-pop shapeshifter Klô Pelgag.

Let it Hiss doesn’t resolve so much as reveal. It invites listeners to lean in – to the hiss, the weight, the wonder. As the Barr Brothers move forward, one thing is clear: they’ve found each other again and in doing so they found their way back to the music.

And the rest is hisstory.