Meet… The Brothers Union
Must be the water. Maybe the air. Or it could be the vibe one gets from jumping in the ocean. Whatever it is, musicians from Asbury Park seem to be a breed of their own. Meet The Brothers Union. With overtones of Blink 182 or The Gaslight Anthem, their new “Mama Tried” (Clover Hill Records) is not a cover of the 1968 Merle Haggard classic, about a son apologizing for his life in prison. It’s an ode to the wisdom of their mother, not her failures. The mother in this case saw things clearly long before her sons did, thus they could look back on life’s challenges with a newfound perspective.
“Looking back,” explains singer/guitarist Mike O’Reilly, “at its core, it explores a realization that often comes with age: the advice our parents gave us may have been worth listening to. The song also addresses being caught in a constant pattern and wanting to get out. It’s a sentiment that many of us recognize in our own lives.”
But it can also be enjoyed simply sonically—without listening to the words—for its speed-zip tempo, the buzzsaw guitars, and the exhilarating thrust perfect for driving down the road.
O’Reilly joined his brother bassist brother Sean, drummer Alex Wagstaff and lead guitarist Tony Chrysanthopoulos after leaving a punk band in New Brunswick. “I always wanted to be in a band with my younger brother,” he says. The two spent years together in their house listening to the Beatles and Sublime. That music-love resulted in the first two Brothers albums, Pain and the Opposite and Esoteric plus four EPs. Enter producer Rob Chiarappa from Lake Hopatcong and now their sound is complete.
The Brothers Union will be playing live August 8 at MusikFest in Bethlehem Pennsylvania and August 16 at Wild Air Brewery back in Asbury.