"Kerosene" from The Talbott Brothers OUT NOW
FORTHCOMING ALBUM BORDERLANDS
DUE OUT FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2025The Talbott Brothers, the acclaimed musical brothers Nick and Ty, strike a match with “Kerosene,” the rollicking lead single from their forthcoming 2025 album, Borderlands. “Kerosene” is a playful love song that captures the essence of having someone worth returning to, someone who stands by you through both the highs and lows and accepts you for who you are.
STREAM “KEROSENE” HERE.
As the first taste of the real-life stories embedded throughout Borderlands, “Kerosene” delivers a raw, stripped-down recording brimming with unfiltered authenticity. The minimal arrangement allows the emotion and storytelling to take center stage, making for an intimate and deeply personal experience. “Some songs take years to write and some take minutes,” Ty explains. “This was one of those quick ones and it has been really fun to play live.”
Earlier this month, The Talbott Brothers revealed that their upcoming project Borderlands will drop on Friday, May 2, 2025. The album marks a profound personal rebirth, capturing a thematic journey that brings them full circle, back to their roots. It embodies their return to the simplicity and honesty that originally fueled their music, delivering a powerful and introspective glimpse into their growth as artists.
Originally from the rural Midwestern town of Imperial, Nebraska (population: 1,993), The Talbott Brothers — grounded in the character of that rural upbringing — have built a name for themselves with their soul-stirring lyrics, sibling blood harmonies, and rich melodies that depict the ebbs and flows of life. Having already turned the heads of major media players, Rolling Stone praised their sound as “cinematic folk-rock for open highways,” while Billboard spotlighted their “haunting brotherly harmonies,” and The Boot touted them as a must-listen for “fans of John Mayer, Mumford & Sons, and Jason Isbell.” With over three million Spotify streams, their 2017 track, “We Got Love,” from their debut album Gray propelled them to national recognition, filling venues across the country.
After years of soaking in Portland’s eclectic energy, the brothers felt a strong calling back to their Midwest beginnings. Returning to their small town, they realized that their unchanged hometown had been instrumental in their own evolution. This revelation led to the creation of Borderlands.
The Talbott Brothers weave their experiences and struggles into a rich tapestry of sound, echoing the resilience and soul of Nebraska’s working class, while navigating the emotional frontiers suggested by its name — where heartbreak leads to healing, grief discovers joy, sadness gives way to happiness, anger finds forgiveness, and indifference becomes love. It’s a sonic exploration of finding the courage to leave home, while always carrying a piece of it with you.
“Pops works at John Deere and Mom was a teacher,” Ty explains, delving into their experience of going back home to inspire the new project. “During the creative and writing process we spent our days riding motorcycles, going to the lake, shooting guns, driving around listening to old rock and roll and country music, making fires and writing songs.”
While the brothers physically returned home, they also found themselves returning to their musical past, rifling through their Pops’ old vinyl collection of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and more. Immersed in the raw sounds of an acoustic guitar and gravel roads, they embraced their country, Americana, and rock ‘n’ roll origins. Inspired by songwriters like Ray LaMontagne and Chris Stapleton, they crafted a sound that feels like coming home while also propelling them into a new era.
“We recorded our last record during the pandemic and we explored a lot of different sounds since we were hulled up in a studio for so long,” says Ty. “With ‘Borderlands,’ we wanted to create everything around an acoustic guitar and track things in a room together, keeping it as bare bones as possible.” They decided to embrace the imperfections, opting for a raw, authentic sound instead of the polished production of their previous album. When touching on what they hope Borderlands says about them, The Talbott Brothers responded: “As artists, we hope it says we’re real. As brothers, we hope it says we’re unbreakable.”
“These songs span a few years so our state of mind wasn’t the same from when we started to when we finished. If listened through top to bottom, you can hear the journey in the progression of the songs,” Nick concludes. “Ultimately, ‘Borderlands’ expresses our own character change, it’s full of grit, grief and good times.”
In recent years, The Talbott Brothers have toured globally, headlining their own shows and sharing the stage with heavyweights like NEEDTOBREATHE, Wild Rivers, Johnnyswim, and ZZ Ward. They’ve also made their mark on the festival scene, playing The Rock Boat, Portland Folk Festival, and Pure Imagination Festival.
This adventure continues with their AMERICANAFEST debut tonight, at The Vinyl Lounge.
THE TALBOTT BROTHERS ONLINE
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