The Barr Brothers spice up the Folk genre

The Barr Brothers released their sophomore album Sleeping Operator in October or 2014.
The band identifies as folk although a blues influence is very apparent in this new album. From Boston, Massachusetts The Barr Brothers is the duo of of Brad Barr on guitar/vocals and Andrew Barr on drums plus classical harpist Sarah Pagé and pianist/bassist Andrès Vial. 

The album opens up with a soundscape of peaceful harp sounds and builds up to their first full length song of the album, Love Ain't Enough. This song demonstrates the band's folky, yet slightly experimental style that that collides blues and folk into one song.  The Barr Brothers add a delicious twist to their sound by adding harp riffs into their songs. The harp is most utilized in the song Half Crazy which starts out with a guitar styled harp intro that launches the song into a powerful blues sound and beat. This song begs the question why harp isn't used in all songs. This tasteful use of the harp adds a unique flair to their already impressively unique rootsy folk style. Their most popular song, Even the Darkness Has Arms, is slower and is characterized by precise figure picked guitar harmonies and soft calming vocals. Not only does the music sound good, but the lyrics are powerful and moving. This song, the best on the album, will launch The Barr Brothers into folk fame. 

The album as a whole is a glorious new stylization of the folk genre mixing harp, blues, and the right amount of softness and power.