Today, Montreal’s The Barr Brothers have released “English Harbour”, a graceful folk hymn illuminated by Brad Barr’s distinctive guitar work and soaring harmonies from former tourmate Jim James of My Morning Jacket. An atmospheric reflection on a passing moment lost to time, the new track serves as the third preview of Let It Hiss, the Barr Brothers’ long-simmering and long-awaited fourth studio album (out Oct 17).
Stream “English Harbour” HERE
Anchored by Brad Barr’s measured guitar playing and delicate vocals, “English Harbour” reflects the universal push and pull between giving up and holding on. Utilizing his trademark falsetto, Jim James brings this struggle to life with his intimate harmonies on the pre-chorus: You can hang it on the wall / you can lock it up / it’s a picture of us all / but we won’t give up / Some days it comes easy / like water off the fall / while some days you have to hang it up”. The tone shifts dramatically from hopeful to haunting in the chorus: “Oh bury us away / spirit us away / carry us away in your arms / Oh, lying in an English harbor waiting for the alarm”. Evocative of both distant memories and the immediate past, “English Harbour” showcases the Barr Brothers’ unique blend of virtuosic musicianship and a mastery of cathartic storytelling.
Speaking about the track, Andrew Barr noted: “We’d been imagining Jim’s soaring voice on the song’s opening melody for a while. One afternoon around 4 p.m., we sent it to him before heading out to pick up our kids. By the time we got home that night, he’d sent back not only the opening melody but a fully harmonized performance from start to finish. It was one of those hair-standing-on-the-back-of-your-neck moments in the life of this record. I loved the song from the moment Brad first played it for me, but Jim’s voice brings a whole new energy to it.”
Brad Barr says of the track: "Something cool and interesting that happened while recording English Harbour—we imagined both Jim James and Jocie Adams(Arc Iris) singing on this one. We had befriended Jim when our band The Slip opened for My Morning Jacket in 2007, and opened for them again with The Barr Brothers around 2015. And we’ve loved Jocie’s singing and arranging instincts since we toured with her old band The Low Anthem. The night we had the idea to invite them, we wrote to them both separately to ask if they’d be interested and available to sing on this song and they randomly happened to be eating dinner together at Jocie’s house in LA. Crazy serendipity! The two of them make this song so magical."
Let It Hiss was produced by Brad and Andrew, working primarily as a duo out of their Montreal studio, and worked with mix engineer Jon Low (The National, Taylor Swift, Bon Iver). In addition to Jim James’ contributions on this new track, the album also features the likes of Elizabeth Powell (Land Of Talk), Patrick Watson, and Klo Pelgag. Their fourth studio album isn’t just a collection of 10 vital new songs, it’s a document of transformation. The result of a pivotal shift: a pause for reflection, a reckoning with vulnerability, and a reconnection between two brothers - Brad and Andrew Barr - who’ve spent their entire lives making music side by side.
Along with the June 11 album announcement, the band shared the project’s first single “Let it Hiss” and have since shared the propulsive open-road anthem “Run Right Into It”.
The Barr Brothers will also embark on their first major headlining tour since 2019 later this year, which will kick off November 4 and includes Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on November 8 and concludes in their hometown of Montreal on November 29 at the 2,300 capacity MTelus. While this is the first headlining tour of big rooms in quite a while for the band, they completed an intimate run of duo shows in fall of 2024, selling out spaces like Mercury Lounge and Levon Helm Studios, and reunited their beloved early outfit The Slip for a series of dates in 2021 and 2022. Tickets and full itinerary are available HERE.
Pre-save Let it Hiss here.
Pre-order the Let it Hiss vinyl here.
The Barr Brothers / Let It Hiss 2025 tour
Nov 4 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
Nov 5 - Portsmouth, NH - 3S Artspace
Nov 7 - Vienna VA (DC) - The Barns at Wolf Trap
Nov 8 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
Nov 11 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
Nov 13 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
Nov 15 - Woodstock, NY - Bearsville Theater
Nov 16 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
Nov 18 - Boston, MA - Sinclair
Nov 19 - Boston, MA - Sinclair
Nov 21 - Hamilton, ON - Bridgeworks
Nov 22 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
Nov 27 - Ottawa, ON - Bronson Centre
Nov 28 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial Bell
Nov 29 - Montreal, QC - MTelus
