Some bands make it look too easy. After day jobs and family commitments led to a brief hiatus, the four men of Branches returned to the studio, somehow stronger and more focused than ever before. These sessions produced the rolling grooves and breezy folk-rock charm of Grown in You, their second album for Contraphonic.
Branches’ self-titled debut was recorded less than a year after the band’s formation, yet it was a remarkably accomplished work, showcasing the singing and songwriting of all three founding members. After adding multi-instrumentalist Tim Joyce, Branches hit the road, focused their songwriting around Ben Schulman’s psych-tinged pop-folk, and recorded a 19-minute freakbeat improv workout (Beard on Fire) to fill the gap between albums #1 and 2. All the while, Branches earned rave reviews for its diverse songwriting and quirky delights.
Although the band doesn’t split the frontman duties as much on Grown in You, the song arrangements are more collaborative – each song becomes the product of four musicians’ labor, rather than a revue of backing men behind each other’s work. Thus each members’ strengths become part of the whole – John Byce’s jazzy stickwork and upbeat vibes, Ben Schulman’s honey warble and pointed strumming, Seth Bohn’s bubbly guitar lines and cheery harmonies, Tim Joyce’s understated coloration and expert ear for arrangement. Recorded in just three days by Barry Phipps (Coctails), Grown in You is the sound of Branches planting their flag, confident in each statement and phrase of their sound.
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