Brother and sister team Rob Kolar and Rachel Kolar front the Californian
folk rock quintet He's My Brother She's My Sister. They released their debut
album Nobody Dances in This Town late last year to a small, but growing
audience. Their sound is somewhere between Sleeping in the Aviary and Andrew
Jackson Jihad. That's folk pop and punk folk for the fans of neither SitA or
AJJ. HMBSMS are fun, folky, and friendly. They're one of 'those' bands... You
know the kind that can raise an audience off their bums, but at the same time
release a good album to a respectful critical response. There have not too many
popular folk groups that have the fun factor and popularity to go with it.
Bellowhead do it, so do HMBSMS.
Instead of using their official video, I’ve taken the liberty in representing City Sessions (you owe me £5 now) who present fantastic acoustic videos of great artists each week. With its slide guitar and tap dancing drums, "The Same Old Ground" introduces listeners in to the experimental world of a five piece folk band. These lyrics aren’t your ordinary fun/comedic lyrics you find with bands like Bellowhead, they're informative and culturally relevant. Rob sings: "Hey little sister, don’t be afraid, even though that’s what the newspapers seem to say, with desperation," so true, yet delivered in a manner of expertise. Listening to this band play acoustically highlights their raw folk aesthetics. You have the essential upright bass, tap dancing drums which is new to me, (but I’m liking every second of it,) and the harmony between brother and sister making this band a lovely experimental folk quintet.
~Eddie
