By the time the first Ugly Brothers full-length, 16 Tiny Mountains, is released on August 13, close to two years will have passed since the Riverwest folk project put out its self-titled debut EP. To be clear, the slight delay isn’t the result of laziness. Rather, the band has spent the last 20 or so months building its name via charming local outings, embarking on occasional tours, and taking its time to write and record new material the right way.
The time and attention expended on new music is evident in “Again & Again,” the new Ugly Brothers single and its first recorded evidence of new material since that 2014 EP. As singer Alex Shah strums his acoustic guitar and pines away, brother Palmer Shah supplies a jagged edge to the otherwise-smooth and summery song with some electric ax-wielding. That edge is softened by subtle string accompaniment and gorgeous harmonies by Ugly Brothers’ non-sibling members, making “Again & Again” a warm and satisfying taste of what’s to come by summer’s end.
Before 16 Tiny Mountains‘ August release and the June 4 Ugly Brothers show at High Dive, stream “Again & Again” now, only at Milwaukee Record.