The Barrel Boys – Cold Spring

Produced by Ivan Rosenberg and recorded at The Sound Still in Toronto, ‘Cold Spring’ is an exciting new chapter in the Barrel Boys songbook, with 15 brand new originals that you’re sure to still be listening to in 20 years.

End of the World I'll Be Better Then I'll Be Better Then Someday Soon Run for Water Dance Around No Shoes Blues Cold Spring Lookout Mtn. Bacon in the Cornbread Over the Waterfall Bored, Broke, And Sober I Get By Everything Will Heal Find Yourself Again Split and Stacked

Album Notes

Established in 2012, The Barrel Boys are a 5-piece string band based in Toronto, Ontario. The band’s sound is built around rich vocal harmonies and virtuosic instrumentals, and they effectively balance standards with their own originals. Their instrumentation lends itself to classic bluegrass, but they are also fluent in old time, classic country, and Americana, and their original material is informed by all of these styles. Each of the 5 members writes and sings their own tunes, making for a wide stylistic range within the band’s sound.

‘Cold Spring’ is The Barrel Boys’ fourth studio recording, and second full-length original album. Produced by Ivan Rosenberg and recorded at The Sound Still in Toronto, the record features 15 new originals that run the gamut of standard bluegrass and old-time themes. From the soul-stirring instrumentals of Kirkpatrick’s prison tune ‘Everything Will Heal,’ to the thick vocals of O’Reilly’s farewell anthem ‘I’ll Be Better Then,’ the band’s instrumental prowess and vocal abilities are on display throughout. The album also speaks to a certain disconnect with city living, with tunes like Wright’s ‘Someday Soon’ or Smith’s ‘Over the Waterfall’ seeming to long for rural escape, while McLaren’s ‘I Get By’ speaks to the challenges of urban survivalism for folk musicians. With a whole slew of tunes that you’re bound to be humming to yourself for the rest of your days, ‘Cold Spring’ is an absolute must-have from The Barrel Boys.