Album Review – The Malpass Brothers – “Lonely Street”
As a true country music fan, you’re used to dealing in close approximations when seeking out modern musical choices. Since finding the real deal like the artists of old is difficult to impossible in the digital age, you get as close as you can, suspend disbelief if necessary, and do your best to enjoy the experience. Generally speaking, it suffices.
With The Malpass Brothers though, none of these exercises are necessary. As if a rip in the space/time continuum appeared in North Carolina, and Chris and Taylor Malpass stumbled straight out of 1968, they actualize the most unvarnished version of country music one can consume from anyone under the age of 40.
It’s how they were born and raised on the music from an early age. It’s how they’ve recused themselves from rubbing elbows with the throwback hipster country crowds lest some of those affectations and put-ons rub off on them. It’s how they run in traditional country circles populated with the oldtimers that directly inspire their music. It all makes The Malpass Brothers one of the purist examples of classic country one can find.
When anyone claims they’re the “real deal” from the younger generation of performers, the measurement starts with The Malpass Brothers, and charts varying degrees of degradation from there. As a live act, they opened for Merle Haggard, Ray Price, and Doc Watson before their passings, and Marty Stuart, Rhonda Vincent, and similar acts since. These days, The Malpass Brothers play some 150 shows a year to packed houses, and their tour purses are impressive.
But the studio output of The Malpass Brothers has been so sparse—and their appearances so out of sight and out of mind with some younger audiences—their very existence might come as news to you unless you’re a fan of shows like Larry’s Country Diner or listen to the Grand Ole Opry. That is why the release of their new album Lonely Street with all original music is so important. Exploiting the services of Doyle Lawson and Ben Isaacs as producers, The Malpass Brothers have released that rock solid career-defining album that fans have been waiting years for.
Along with Chris Malpass co-writing a lion’s share of the album’s songs, they also select a smart collection of covers and contributions that compliment the original material well, including “We Don’t” by Jeannie Seely and “Love Slips Away” by Merle Haggard, while Shawn Camp, Conrad Fisher, Dickey Lee, and Taylor Dunn all accrue co-writes. Add Brennen Leigh for a duet, and Lonely Street delivers exquisitely.
This is music straight from the Golden Era in country without any aberrations to be found. The way the song “Out of Sight and Out of Mind” starts with a tag of the chorus shows how studied in classic country modes The Malpass Brothers are. But it’s one thing to select the right instrumentation and tones to re-create an era. What’s also indicative of a bygone era in country is how incredibly gifted the Malpass Brothers are to sing the material.
Previously, it was a prerequisite to be a gifted singer to be able to perform country music. These days, it’s a secondary concern. The Malpass Brothers may be one of many acts who make older sounding music in the modern context. But it’s the smoothness and richness of their vocal delivery that makes them second to none.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8.5/10)
‘Lonely Street’ was executive produced by long-time Malpass Brothers manager Dan Mann, and was one of the last albums engineered by four-time Grammy winning engineer Mark Capps who was killed in January.
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May 12, 2023 @ 8:08 am
I love this record. The production is outstanding. I’m gonna get mine on vinyl.
May 12, 2023 @ 6:29 pm
Conrad, didn’t you, Chris Malpass, & Dickey Lee write one of the songs on this album?
May 12, 2023 @ 8:34 pm
Yeah. I wanted to prove to Dickey that he could still get songs cut if he writes ‘em. ????
May 12, 2023 @ 8:21 am
Looks like these guys need to stay in the past. Sorry not a fan, there are much better singers who sing this kind of past music and that is the secret sisters.
May 13, 2023 @ 9:09 am
But it wouldn’t surprise me if the Secret Sisters are hot for the Malpass Brothers.
May 13, 2023 @ 11:14 am
Your dislike is the best recommendation for the duo.
May 12, 2023 @ 9:21 am
Thanks for the well written review. I will be buying this. These guys successfully bridge the old and new and keep the classic country sound alive. Plus they’re great entertainers and quite charismatic as well. Modern fans sometimes don’t realize how much of the appeal of classic stars was based on their building a genuine rapport with with their audience and engaging them vs just singing.
May 12, 2023 @ 9:30 am
I love the younger generation producing traditional country. People like this, Justin Trevino, and others.
May 12, 2023 @ 9:31 am
I challenge anyone to name any other act that has done more to successfully honor traditional country music than these guys. They are GREAT!
May 12, 2023 @ 9:33 am
My recommendation to any Malpass Brothers fan is to see them when they play at Heart of Texas in Brady. When I went to the festival in Brady a few weeks ago, the Malpass Brothers and their band were about the only people there younger than me and I’m an old man. It was cool watching them interact with the artists who mostly recorded in the 50s-70s.
May 12, 2023 @ 9:40 am
This is real, and it couldn’t be more obvious. I love these boys and I’m glad they’re back. These boys are what Charley Crockett wishes he was.
I also think Trig did a good job explaining things.
If anyone wants a subtle understanding of what authenticity is, what it means for C(c)ountry Music, and why it’s important, just scroll up in this comment section and take a look at who doesn’t like these boys.
May 12, 2023 @ 9:54 am
I would also ask anyone reading to take note of the fact that Crockett is a star while these boys are virtually unknown, and ask themselves why that is.
The answer goes right to the heart of what I’ve been saying for years: authenticity does not sell. Plain ol country boys don’t sell.
“Outlaw” sells.
“Edginess” sells.
“Hipsterism” sells.
May 12, 2023 @ 10:14 am
Because Crockett puts the work in? He has been on the move for the last couple of years all across this great country and over seas. That kind of dedication and the continual honing of his craft will get you someplace. The Malpass Brothers are awesome as well but don’t seem to tour very widely. Love this new album.
Please enlighten us what your reasoning is?
May 12, 2023 @ 10:42 am
Crockett is a hipster. That has nothing to do with the work he’s put in, but it has a lot to do with his popularity. For some reason, people are drawn to novelty, or “different”, more so than they are authenticity.
May 12, 2023 @ 12:25 pm
Malpass Brothers are all that and more. Phenomenal vocals, great sense of phrasing and melodies, rock solid instrumentally, and you can two step to their honky- tonk stuff. I always see them in my area appearing at our little town bluegrass oriented fests, though to me they embody early honky- tonk, rockabilly and old- timey country with maybe just a touch of grass on the side.
Kinda tough to categorize exactly, but what they do is offer a sense of authenticity. They very much appeal to the same crowd who likes Mo Pitney, Gene Watson, Vern Gosdin, Keith Whitley and so on. The prototypical country baritone is the secret sauce. That and the brotherly harmony. And they are hilarious entertainers, certainly they know how to work a crowd. This albums a no brainer.
May 12, 2023 @ 2:57 pm
People are drawn to talent and accessibility. Authenticity is left to every listeners opinion and definition. Playing the devils advocate. How could the Malpass Bros be considered authentic if all they sing are in the style of styles we have heard in the past. My guess is that if you are from that era you will find them authentic. Or, if you realize they are young and have never lived in that era they are simply coping the style of Classic country.
I enjoy them both so I find it hard to discount either.
May 14, 2023 @ 6:15 pm
@kevin smith your opinion of “rockibilly” and mine are very different lol. I hear rockiblly and think koe wetzel, pecos, Kolby cooper. Some of my favorites right there
I listen to this album and think hank Williams sr immediately
Not saying your wrong or anything just interesting to me
May 12, 2023 @ 12:44 pm
Do you expect or even want authentic country musicians to become ‘stars’? The rural population of the US is less than 20%. You want authentic rural music, then their appeal is mostly going to be limited to authentic rural communities. Once someone adds another flavor to the music that may broaden their appeal, you don’t want anything to do with them.
May 12, 2023 @ 5:46 pm
I’ve been listening to a handful of the songs this afternoon and these guys really are great. They can definitely hit that classic country vibe. I was thinking Love is a Lonely Street sounds like it could be a Hank Williams cover to find out it’s a Louvin Brothers cover (surprised Trig didn’t call that out when discussing the covers). Hopefully there’s still some autographed vinyl available when I figure out my next address in a few weeks (from the Rockies to the Blue Ridge mountains… excited!).
May 12, 2023 @ 6:47 pm
….”Do you expect or even want authentic country musicians to become ‘stars’?”….
Yes, but that isn’t my point. I contend that C(c)ountry Music is no longer a commercially viable art form, because the artist performing it must have some type of schtick that makes them less country in some way…regardless of how their music actually sounds. Plain, rural people, singing C(c)ountry Music plainly, even if immensely talented, are passed over in favor of novelty, or “edgy” performers. My point is just to say that Trigger is wrong when he asserts that C(c)ountry Music is in better shape than it’s been in years. The truth is, C(c)ountry Music replicated, is in better shape than it’s been in years. If a country person, singing country music, without a schtick, can’t be successful, then how can we say C(c)ountry Music is in better shape than it’s been in years?
….”The rural population of the US is less than 20%. You want authentic rural music, then their appeal is mostly going to be limited to authentic rural communities.”….
I’d be curious to know what percentage of the population was rural in 1960. I’m sure it was higher than 20%, but I bet not significantly higher. I would guess 35%. The problem is that we’ve allowed C(c)ountry Music to be put out to pasture. If 20%, or even 10% of the population of the United States cared deeply about C(c)ountry Music, it would be commercially viable. In 1960, rural America was united behind it for the most part.
…”Once someone adds another flavor to the music that may broaden their appeal, you don’t want anything to do with them.”….
You’ve completely missed the point. C(c)ountry Music can include different sounds; this isn’t about my personal tastes, and it’s not a rant about what constitutes C(c)ountry Music sonically. Charley Crockett, Tyler Childers, etc., they all sonically perform C(c)ountry Music, but they all do it with some type of schtick in order to be successful. I’m saying that the requirement of the schtick is how we can know that C(c)ountry Music, in its purest, most authentic form, is for all intents and purposes, deaderdna doornail.
May 13, 2023 @ 8:12 am
I am 100% city but I love the traditional country stuff. Doesn’t have anything to do with where you live. That’s just lazy thinking if that’s how you feel.
May 13, 2023 @ 10:08 am
@The Wanderer 405,
You know what’s really lazy thinking?
Completely missing my point, and then using your version of what I said as a strawman to knock down.
May 13, 2023 @ 11:47 am
“country” music has never been exclusively “rural” at all.
May 13, 2023 @ 6:33 pm
“ACKSHULLY!”
May 12, 2023 @ 2:42 pm
It seems like the answer to your question is extremely simple. Nearly everything about this sound is from another era and for most people it is completely spent. It seems like you are making authenticity and other qualities and characteristics mutually exclusive. I don’t think it is that we are living in a new world that makes people desire things that are different and although you are right about the three things that sell, many other quality aspects of new acts sell as well.
May 13, 2023 @ 6:41 pm
….”Nearly everything about this sound is from another era and for most people it is completely spent.”…..
It is absolutely, positively, not spent, when performed by a hipster playing dress-up. When presented as a novelty, this sound sells.
When the exact same sound is performed authentically, far fewer people care to listen to it.
May 12, 2023 @ 10:12 am
Even when I agree with what you’re saying, I want to disagree because of how you say it. You ain’t happy ’til we ain’t happy.
I wouldn’t say they are virtually unknown, though. They’ve got a crazy touring schedule. They are way more likely to be seen in the bluegrass community than the Americana, honky tonk or country scene. They play a ton of bluegrass festivals, and folks are nuts about ’em.
May 12, 2023 @ 10:39 am
First of all, I’m literally (not figuratively) the happiest person on this website.
Second, you need to focus on aligning yourself with what’s true, regardless of how you feel about the personality of a random person on the internet. Do not let your emotions come between you and figuring out what the truth is.
They are virtually unknown nationally. You and I both know that, so I’m not sure why you want to suddenly try to re-define the widely understood phrase “virtually unknown”, just to try to prove an-anonymous-person-you-don’t-like-on-the-internet wrong.
May 12, 2023 @ 10:28 am
I understand what you’re saying Honky. But like Conrad said, these guys actually are popular. They’re just popular in different circles than most people are used to around here. I call it the RFD-TV crowd. They have a big following, it’s just isolated from a lot of internet chatter.
The other issue is that they just haven’t had any music out there for people to consume, especially original music. I reviewed their 2015 album that was mostly covers, but you can’t even find it on streaming services now, and that was seven years ago. You got to release records at some point, and that’s what makes this release so important, and why I have made it a focus.
Say what you want about Charley Crockett, the guy is prolific. You’ve got to give folks something to listen to when they hear your name. The Malpass Brothers have finally done that here.
May 12, 2023 @ 10:46 am
Trig,
I’ve been a fan of these cats since the beginning. They flopped out of the gate, for the reasons I’ve already explained over and over again.
….”They’re just popular in different circles than most people are used to around here. I call it the RFD-TV crowd.”….
You can keep trying to repackage the truth to make it more palatable, but it boils down to them not being popular nationally. “Popular on RFD-TV” = not popular by any standard that matters to a musician who seeks popularity.
May 12, 2023 @ 11:19 am
Ok, Honky. I will say that they are more popular that Charley Crockett where I live, and I live in the real world too.
May 12, 2023 @ 12:05 pm
Look, I’m not trying to oversell their popularity. What I am trying to say is that as a live act, they’re a lot more popular than a lot of folks assume.
And whether it’s Jake Worthington, The Malpass Brothers, or any of the other truly traditional younger acts like this, I don’t see the value in saying, “They’ll never make it because they’re not hip enough.” I’m not saying I don’t understand your point. But I don’t want to preordain their outcome due to cynicism. There is definitely an appetite for this kind of country music. I’m seeing it to the reaction to this very review. I’m trying to do my job as the proprietor of “Saving Country Music” to spread the word about these acts, and hope they go on to have successful careers. The Malpass Brothers are already supporting themselves through their music. That’s already a success.
May 12, 2023 @ 11:18 am
This gives off huge Zephaniah type production vibes… And that’s a good thing.
May 12, 2023 @ 10:46 am
This coming from a loser who lives in a communist world. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You can have this trash, I will take the secret sisters any day of the week. I don’t care what pathetic no life losers like you and your kind think hokey
May 12, 2023 @ 10:48 am
Let’s not get into a flame war here guys. Thank you.
May 12, 2023 @ 2:45 pm
Seems to me you would do well to consider some of the lyrics of a song by the late, VERY GREAT Tom T. Hall:
Joe, don’t let your music kill ya’
It’s a thing that’s supposed to thrill ya’
It’s a thing that’s supposed to make you happy
Takin’ pills and drinkin’ whiskey
Pickin’ can be mighty risky
Joe, don’t let your music kill ya’
Nobody cares
May 12, 2023 @ 9:44 am
Their self-titled album from 2015 is one of my alltime favorite albums, it’s absolute perfection tom. Like Jerry said; it’s great when the young generation produce traditional country. Gives you hope for the future.
May 12, 2023 @ 12:58 pm
Golly, their phrasing is remarkable on, “I’ve Got Her On My Mind Again”.
So good. And I hear a new maturity in their voices.
May 12, 2023 @ 2:17 pm
Love these guys. I’m one of the younger listeners Trig mentioned in the article that was turned on to them by this site. I’m also a big Brennen Leigh fan and loving the duet. This album will be on rotation all summer for me.
May 12, 2023 @ 2:18 pm
Yep, I’ll take this ANY.DAY. over some of the junk people praise here.
May 13, 2023 @ 6:55 am
So, so dang good.
May 13, 2023 @ 9:23 am
Nice guitar lick in the first song, too.
May 13, 2023 @ 3:17 pm
That is the real stuff right there.
Put down the bottle and back away if it is too strong for you.
May 13, 2023 @ 6:32 pm
Album of the year for me so far. ‘Authentic’ is a term often casually tossed around, but these guys where that label as easy as those Nudie suits.
The Malpass Brothers are from my neck of the woods. They’ve certainly got a following here; it’s not huge but it’s passionate to say the least. You should see the MerleFest crowd when they come on; it’s a party for sure, with everyone singing along…
New music from these cats is such a blessing. Love it!
June 11, 2023 @ 12:50 pm
Really dig the sound and look of these guys. Fits in next to the Elvis CD I just bought after visiting Graceland! I think I’ll stick these guys in the Last Train to Memphis soundtrack that features country, rock, and music from Elvis’ early career before he was inducted into the Army in 1958. Appreciate the review, Trigger.