If you have ever found yourself lamenting, as I often do, that country could use less fetid racism à la Jason Aldean, and you also find yourself wishing, as I often do, that country had more emotionally driven introspection, à la Death Cab for Cutie? Well then, Boston-based band, Tiberius, may be what you are yearning for. On their first record, Troubadour, they purport to present a blend of country and emo that they have coined Farm Emo.
The album starts out with “(there’s nothing wrong with the truth),” a 45-second instrumental track that really sets the mood and expectations. Listeners are greeted with smooth harmonica and guitar that start subtly and slowly build into a more robust sound. It is the kind of track that, while leaving you satisfied, still makes you wish it were a little longer. I honestly can’t express how refreshing I find the harmonica on this track. Huge fan!
Next, I want to talk about “Sag”. I feel this song in particular shows off the depth of Brendan Wright’s vocal performance, from the first notes of ‘Three Cheers to Eliot’ to the very end of the song. They present very smooth vocals that are gripping and extremely engaging. One clear example of what I am talking about is at about the minute mark, Brendan sings ‘let it go if it makes you feel that low’ and they do something with their voice at the end of that line that I’m honestly not sure what to call, but it sounds kind of like a jittery vocal flip. Anyway, the effect is really enjoyable and really gives the feeling that Brendan is being overwhelmed with emotion in that moment. They do this little trick a few more times throughout the album, and every time, it is just so cool.
The most country song on the album is probably “Moab”. It features an incredible steel pedal guitar. I really like the lush thwang it adds to the composition. It also has a banjo lick that is laced in the background of the song at about 50 seconds. It’s probably more understated than I, a banjo lover, would prefer, but it is still great. This song really showcases the great lengths the band went to layer and tune their sound, and is one of my favorites.
“Barn” is about planning your life with someone, only to discover that perhaps those plans and that life weren’t meant for you both. So instead, you begin to imagine a life without the other person. The sorrow slowly melds into optimism as the song progresses, and you are greeted once again with more harmonica and banjo. Both are great. The song ends with a bit of spoken word. The final phrase of which is “I have experienced death and I will experience it again.” I quite liked the whole spoken word piece, but I feel the quoted bit is a really good finish to, not only the song, but also the album as a whole. For the song, it seems to say that the loss of the relationship was “like death” in that it was the hardest thing they have ever done, and in a sense, “literally” death in that they lost the life they would have had together. And in overcoming that hardship, they know that they are capable of doing it again. For the album, it is a stellar concluding statement to an album that is about losing everything that someone thought defined them and learning to re-contextualize who they are without those things. So, in essence, it is saying I have experienced the death of who they thought they were, and as they continue to grow as a person, they will do it again. Barn is my favorite song and a fantastic way to end this album.
By declaring themselves farm emo, Tiberius positioned themselves to be country adjacent, which is probably fair. They, in general, feel more emo//indie rock than country. Where they truly shine, however, is when they wholeheartedly lean into the country aspects of the music. Regardless, whether it’s country, indie rock, or emo, I am glad Tiberius spent time down on the emo farm to wrangle up this album. It has precocious genre-bending that is engrossing and unique. I think you should check it out, assuming you are a fan of any other of the genres Tiberius dabbles in on this record.
Written by David Robison
