1. DantheMan

   10

   The best new group on the music scene today. Joy Williams breaks away from her pop-rock background and turns in a stunning performance as a sensitive romantic lover. She was heading in this direction in 2009 with "Speaking a Dead Language" only to discover the perfect compliment in John Paul White, whose the voice and body frames her masterfully. As good as this album is they are even better live where the harmony of their entire selves shines through. Their remake of "Dance Me to the End of Love is better than the original. Their musical style is likely too niche to achieve mainstream success but they will go on to build a devoted (even rabid) fan base. Count me as being on the bandwagon, right now.… Expand

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2. buzzlight

   9

   The Civil Wars build off of Allison Kraus and The Swell Season in a very effective way. The ballads are lovely and carefully crafted. In today's music, it is very refreshing to hear a girl/guy duo sing together with such great songwriting. We need more of these collaborations in today's music.… Expand

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3. NKOAS

   8

   One of the best debuts in years, The Civil Wars are branded as country, but that

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4. JennetP

   7

   Because I was drawn to the album by hearing the title cut, I was disappointed to find that it was atypical. "Barton Hollow," the song, layers the lovely harmonies of The Civil Wars over raw blues-based rock, producing a tense, edgy beauty that is, in a word, sublime. The rest of the album generally lacks that tension, opting for loveliness alone. There's nothing wrong with sounding lovely, of course, and the voices of John Paul White and Joy Williams truly do, being perfectly matched and preternaturally responsive to one another. But the best of the slower, sweeter songs, in my opinion, is the duo's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love," with its terrifying murderous subtext, so, once again, dissonant elements seem to raise their game. So far, their folkier songwriting tends not to introduce such elements, despite being much enamored of paradox in their lyrics ("I don't love you, but I always will"). So these songs feel flat to me--lovely, but flat. A hundred thousand "Gray's Anatomy" fans disagree, however, so feel free to love this album unreservedly. If you're a fan of the sublime, however (and you know what the sublime is), then you may want just to download the two songs I've mentioned (and, perhaps "Birds of a Feather," which has a little rawness to it) then wait to see where this band goes. Given their name, they should be all about the tension between harmony and discord--in their music, as well as their lyrics.… Expand

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