Brother Keep won’t be offended if you think they should have broken up.

Coincidentally, brothers Nick and Jake Sessanna (guitar/vox and drums/backup vox respectively) remain the only constants in the band’s lineup – an uncanny premonition for a band whose name is truly just a combination of two random words. Needless to say, the band has evolved significantly since its formation in 2010. In that time, Brother Keep has grown from three members to five and has released a respectable amount of material, including two EPs and their full-length magnum opus, the ambitious 11-song Patchwork Walls.

After what seemed like a fatal departure of several members, Brother Keep found new life with guitarist and co-vocalist Nathan McDorman, as well as bassist Adam Cwynar and the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Mike “Fiki” Rakiecki (of Lancer fame). The band spent the majority of 2013 dutifully regrouping, relearning, and redefining their niche as a band, only to come out swinging with their newest release, the four-song To You & Yours EP.

Written in the very early months of 2013, To You & Yours is a scathing kiss-off to an awful ex-lover and a best friend turned traitorous. Loosely chronological, the songs serve as a recorded storyline, following Sessanna on his journey through the various processes of grief. “Windy City” finds him naïvely blaming their beloved hometown of Buffalo, NY for the dissolution of his relationship, only to realize that Buffalo is actually the key to his further successes. One listen to the vicious lyrics of “F(r)iend” is confirmation of the person who is really to blame, bringing light to the pathetic, treasonous nature of an ex-friend in an explosion of much deserved anger. “Wrong” is a beautiful catharsis and finds Sessanna channeling every one of his feelings into one succinct line; “how many times do you have to hear it before it all sinks in, you are an awful person and you were wrong.” The band also decided to re-record an old favorite, “Laces,” a final statement of resignation and closure buffered by a shiver-inducing solo from McDorman and Rakiecki.

So yes, Brother Keep probably should have broken up... But they didn’t.
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