The Brook & the Bluff: From the Front Porch to the Ogden

If the laid-back harmonies of The Brook & the Bluff’s most recent album, Bluebeard, sound like a breeze passing through sunlit leaves, it should be no surprise: The album was composed and recorded at the Sky Valley, Georgia, home of guitarist Kevin and drummer John Canada; the cover photo was taken from the brothers' front porch, overlooking the hills of Appalachia.

When in need of an inspirational jolt, the band has often returned to the Georgia house from its base of operations in Nashville — but this was the first time an entire album was written and recorded on the property.

“The whole goal of the record was to make something that felt like the experience we had making it,” says lead singer and frontman Joseph Settine. “I think that, naturally, the songs ended up being more mellow, laid-back and a little bit more pensive, because that’s what we are when we’re up there...completely free and weightless.”

There must be something in the Southern air for the five members of The Brook & the Bluff, who all hail from around Birmingham, Alabama. The area even inspired the band's names: Outlier Settine grew up in Bluff Park, about twenty minutes from where the Canada brothers, bassist Fred Lankford and guitarist Alec Bolton went to high school in Mountain Brook.

“I’m surrounded by a bunch of dudes from Mountain Brook, but that’s okay,” Settine jokes. “We have a love for home that we wanted to make a part of the band. … You never should forget where you come from, and we wanted to keep that close to us."

The musicians met in college, at the University of Auburn, where Settine and Bolton began to compose tunes as a duo. During the development of their first EP, they realized that a full band was necessary to do their compositions justice, but they “just didn’t know anybody,” Settine recalls, and they started asking others to join. Kevin Canada, the latest addition, was added to the act in 2019, so while the paths of the members had crossed many times in the past, their identity as a five-piece band feels relatively new to Settine.

“Kevin's felt like a member for a really long time, but I think, officially, this record is where we're putting us out as a five-piece into the world,” Settine says. “This record is the culmination of our journey up to this point. It feels like this is the record that we’ve been trying to make since we started making music.”

Although Bluebeard holds a tight-knit sound, it's more relaxed than previous projects such as 2019's First Place and 2021's Yard Sale. John Canada's sticks follow Settine's winding falsetto melodies, setting down simple beats with bedroom-pop influences, while the guitars are engulfed by reverb. "Normal Things" and "Long Limbs" establish Bluebeard's groove early on, with crescendos on "Tangerine" and "Tell Me" adding pace to the record.

Bolton's guitar solo on "Tell Me," as well as the vocals on "Normal Things," was recorded on that iconic front porch overlooking the album cover's vista. The band blasted the volume as Bolton "ripped" his solo into the mist. "It was the coolest moment of my life," recalls Settine.

The Brook & the Bluff almost made its Denver debut at Red Rocks, supporting Rainbow Kitten Surprise, but the tour was canceled by RKS because of a medical crisis. Now, after selling out the Bluebird for one of Settine’s “favorite shows of all time” in 2021, the musicians are returning to town to headline the Ogden Theatre on October 1, playing a mix of songs from Bluebeard as well as their older LPs.

The Brook & the Bluff will be joined by Bendigo Fletcher, which just released the EP Wingding. “They’re insane. They rip, and all of them sing, I think, so it’s gonna be full of harmony," Settine says.

“I think it’s going to be high-energy, harmony and a good time,” sums up Settine.