We are Brothers of Mercy


Folk music, in its effort to speak to a broad audience, is sometimes seen as stark and

simplistic. It&#39;s a characterization that is not unwelcome or derogatory, but born out

of the service to what lies at the core of folk music...the song. The best songs do not

need to hide behind studio tricks or gimmicks. The artistry lies as much, if not more,

in the crafting of the story or the message. The music is a picture frame.

This idea was at the heart of the process while recording Sentimental Man, the

debut EP by The Brothers of Mercy. The songs needed to be at once personal and

universal. The music needed to be just the right frame...beautiful without being too

ornate...Simple, but not uninteresting. Inspiration came from the golden era of

American folk music, when timeless songwriting joined with masterful pop craft to

give us iconic acts like The Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel. The end result

is a timeless EP of 6 songs called “Sentimental Man” that still manage to speak to our current climate,

combining hopes, fears, joys, and frustrations with classic production techniques.

All of this experience led to their desire to strip away the excess and make a record

of songs that were laid bare, unencumbered by studio trickery and ready for the

listener to receive, whether today or in 50 years. All of this was done in the service

of the song

Steven Collins