Hearts Town The War and Treaty Artist

{|Tanya Blount-Trotter|} and {|Michael Trotter Jr.|}, the couple behind the Nashville rock and soul act {|the War and Treaty|}, have a knack for dynamics. When they first appeared on the Americana scene in 2017, they did so with immediate gusto, deli... Read more

{|Tanya Blount-Trotter|} and {|Michael Trotter Jr.|}, the couple behind the Nashville rock and soul act {|the War and Treaty|}, have a knack for dynamics. When they first appeared on the Americana scene in 2017, they did so with immediate gusto, delivering a fully formed and extremely confident amalgam of soul, folk, R&B, and country sung with the passion of gospel and the muscle of rock. While the husband-and-wife team may be relatively new as a musical duo, between them exists an interesting and varied catalog of credits dating back to the 1990s. On {|Hearts Town|}, the follow-up to their 2018 breakout {|Healing Tide|}, the Trotters crank up the power even further, turning in a deeply compassionate collection that is almost cinematic in its scope, though still a lot of fun. Self-produced and featuring a bevy of roots music staples, from instrumentalists like dobro legend {|Jerry Douglas|} and guitarist {|Chris Eldridge|} to singer/songwriter {|Jason Isbell|}, the album kicks off with a rock & roll flourish, with songs like Yearning and the {|Isbell|}-assisted Beautiful rippling with heavy guitars, horn stacks, and the full-bore attack of the Trotters' exuberant, intermingling vocals. A more soulful highlight is the playful and rousing Five More Minutes, which features some of {|Michael|}'s best vocal takes. Midway through, they take a breath with the stripped-down acoustic gospel-folk gem Jubilee before revving back up with the joyous, bluesy ballad Hey Pretty Moon, a showcase for {|Tanya|}'s massive vocal range. Elsewhere they take curious, but somehow effective, forays into energetic pop (Jealousy), torchy ballads (Lonely in My Grief), and elegant, earthy folk (Hustlin'). At times, the production threatens to become a little too heavy-handed, but with voices and talent like the Trotters possess, going big seems less a sin than underrepresenting their strengths. ~ Timothy Monger Less