We recently had the opportunity to check out the new single “The Ballad Of The Washed Up(and Seemingly Forgotten) from Massachusetts alternative rock band, The Brother Stereo. You can listen to The Ballad Of The Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten) on Spotify Here and on Apple Music Here and on Bandcamp Here

There is something very organic and authentic about the new single “The Ballad Of The Washed Up ( and Seemingly Forgotten) from The Brother Stereo that makes the song so appealing. The message that the song tells about the struggles and pitfalls of those who struggle in Hollywood is a bit ironic. Because, “The Ballad Of The Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten) is a song that deserves its place on the silver screen.

“The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten),” marks the third effort from the Massachusetts alternative rock band, led by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Robert Kelly, the brother of longtime Dropkick Murphys drummer Matt Kelly, and the Boston punk band’s substitute touring bass, banjo, and mandolin player, following punchy spring debut “After The Rain” and summer’s aching “Time in History.” 

An upbeat tune for downtrodden times, “The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)” continues to expand The Brother Stereo’s expansive sonic landscape, building upon a foundation of indie, psychedelia, post-Britpop, and guitar-driven space rock, but also taking the sound to unexpected places. It comes across as oddly timeless, a notion at playful odds with its storyline.  

“It’s about being at the top of your game and being a human under a lot of pressure,” Kelly says. “It’s about the superficiality of the people you meet, keeping up the facade of fame in the eyes of the world and trying to relate to others.”

“The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)” was written, recorded, produced, and engineered by The Brother Stereo; mixed by Trevor Buckingham; and mastered by Jay Frigoletto at Mastersuite Studio in Brookline, New Hampshire, just over the Massachusetts state line where Pelkey and Kelly grew up together. 

“The Ballad Of The Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten) by The Brother Stereo is a songwriting and musical feat that needs to heard and celebrated.

The Brother Stereo is:

Michael Robert Kelly: Vocals,  guitar, bass

Shawn Pelkey: Drums

Buddy Sullivan: Guitar