The Civil Wars- Barton Hollow

 The Civil Wars- Barton Hollow.

20 Years - 3:02

I've Got This Friend - 3:24

C'est la mort - 2:30

To Whom It May Concern - 3:32

Poison & Wine - 3:42

My Father's Father - 3:21

Barton Hollow - 3:26

The Violet Hour - 3:26 

Girl with the Red Balloon - 3:50

Falling - 3:59

Forget Me Not - 2:57

Birds of a Feather - 3:06

Bonus Tracks:

 I Want You Back - 3:16

Dance Me to the End of Love - 3:08

Quick history, "The Civil Wars is is an indie folk duo composed of singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White. The duo met during Nashville songwriting session and formed The Civil Wars," (1). John plays the guitar and the harmonica, and Joy plays the piano and the organ, both sharing duties of the vocals. 


They released their album Barton Hollow on Feburary 1, 2011, so like I said fairly recent.  


Ok enough blabbing, time for music. The album as a whole is simply brilliant. The album falls into the indie folk genre but I feel like it can have a bit of bluegrass in there. It is very similar to an older album called Raising Sand, a collaboration album between Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, frontwoman for Alison Krauss and the Union Station. One of my favorite albums of all time, which would be why I was interested in Barton Hollow. 


 The combination of Joy's voice and John's is a great contrast to each others. Both are very folksy and soft, but her higher more gentle voice comes across as haunting compared to his lower baritone (? don't know the technical term for his voices' type, forgive me if I'm wrong).      The way their voices play off each other just entices the listener to a mellow mood and you find yourself wanting to do nothing but listen to their music. Each Song is just as beautiful as the last, and if you read my introduction blog you'd know what a fan I am of lyrics and their lyrics are amazing. 


In the first song of the album 20 years, it seems to tell the story of a lost love, perhaps waiting for him/her to return and unable to let go of the fact that is has been 20 years since they have heard from the lover. John's guitar playing on this song is so simple but so beautiful, the song starts with him playing chords that seem to draw you in right away, and then the vocals start with both Joy and John and instantly you know that you're gonna be hooked and if the rest of the album is anything like this song, you know you're in for some great music. 


The theme for the album is about lovers, which is set by 20 years and followed throughout the rest of the songs. It is a sad tale of love, evident in songs such as I've got this friend and Falling. And there seems to be some tie in between songs.


In C'est la mort (french for "such is death") both the guitar and the piano are being played for the introduction and the sound makes one think of an old music box, the kind you opened up and a ballerina or some figurine would spin in front of the mirror. 

Like this one

The words tell the story of two lovers and one of them has committed suicide, evident by the opening lyrics (Swan dive down eleven stories high). As the story continues the lover still alive is shown to be telling the story and tells his lover to not continue on to the "other side" with out them. The lyrics are beautiful and the musical composition makes the song haunting, but it is so beautiful it is definitely not one to be missed. 


Another favorite is Poison and Wine.  If you didn't hear the words, the melodies between the two voices and their separate instruments makes the song carry a romantic feel, and makes you just want to cry at how beautiful it is. Once reading the words though you realize how f***ed up their relationship truly is and that just makes the song even more beautiful. The building crescendo in the repetition gives the song an amazing quality that will truly stick with you after it has finished, and if you're anything like me you'll repeat it more than once. 
Side Note: This song had been recently featured on Grey's Anatomy and, I haven't seen the episode, give the heartbreaks of the show you can definitely see this song fitting perfectly into the theme of the show. 


 Barton Hollow the namesake of the album. From the minute the song starts with the vocalization of John and Joy I'm hooked. It has a western feel to it, and you can just picture a small Western town of the Tombstone era with a man wandering the desert knowing his fate ahead of him. He is an outlaw and nothing good came from what he left behind the titular Barton Hollow. Joy and John are able to paint such a vivid picture with their words that you can almost see an entire movie being made out of this one song. (Hmm....) The song ends after an amazing build up to the simplicity of just John and Joy's voices stating the chorus and it leaves you with a feeling I can't even describe. Good, bad...ugly? Either way it leads right into The Violet Hour.


The Violet Hour is entirely instrumental, something rarely heard on albums anymore and is absolutely gorgeous. The guitar and piano is breathtaking and it makes me want close my eyes and let it lull me into a deep slumber. These two have serious talent! It also seems fitting given the "story" they just painted with Barton Hollow. 


All right, so I'm gonna stop there and let you guys all tell me your own opinions. I'm obsessed but what are your thoughts?




 Lyrics to Barton Hollow
Buy Barton Hollow off Itunes




1. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_Wars)