The Brother Stereo explore ‘The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)’

Massachusetts alternative rock trio led by songwriter Michael Robert Kelly offer an upbeat tune for downtrodden times on Friday, October 11

OUT NOT: Listen to ‘The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)’

The trio’s third single of 2024 follows ‘Time in History’ and ‘After The Rain’

Listen to The Brother Stereo on Spotify

BOSTON, Mass. [October 11, 2024] – There’s a prevailing sentiment in modern pop culture that the internet destroyed the notion of a one-hit wonder. With a crumbling music industry, artists can cultivate their own fan bases, weather the ebb and flow of releasing music, and lean on the idea that a comeback can happen at any time, even if their recent efforts failed to match what came before it. Hollywood, however, is a different story, and the streets of Tinseltown are littered with the broken dreams and lost hopes of those whose star shine has faded from the marquee. It’s a cruel land of the washed-up and seemingly forgotten. 

That idea is at the core of The Brother Stereo’s commanding new single “The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten),” set for release on Friday, October 11. It 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.”

Inspiration for the riff came to Kelly after witnessing Tommy Emmanuel perform solo at the Berklee Performance Center when he was helping teach a summer class. What began as an instrumental soon blossomed – a common occurrence in The Brother Stereo writing sessions, involving guitarist Buddy Sullivan and drummer Shawn Pelkey – into a soaring exploration of fame and its fleeting nature. 

“I had a few different iterations of the lyrics before I knew what the song was about,” Kelly admits. “I just had Hollywood in mind for some reason and what it must be like for people who are so famous and desirable they can’t walk down the street. Then what it’s like to be the person who used to be that famous and the shit you get for not being as ‘perfect’ or ‘beautiful’ as you used to be. Washed up, if you will.”  

Though the quickly-growing arsenal of The Brother Stereo’s catalog boasts both slow and fast songs, they are all linked through a collaborative connective tissue: Kelly’s weathered brand of lyrical storytelling, able to place his voice and observations deep within his subjects; Pelkey’s rhythmic heartbeat behind the kit on drums and percussion that propel each track forward; and the guitar wizardry of Sullivan, who on “Time in History” provided “one of the best and most intense guitar solos to come out of Boston this century,” according to If It’s Too Loud. There’s a darkness within the music of The Brother Stereo that often gets smothered by a bold sense of hope. 

“I think it shows us as a band that really knows music but can also write a catchy tune that makes you think,” Kelly admits. “There are many directions we could go, and you can expect a lot of different types of music from us but you’ll always know it’s The Brother Stereo.”  

“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. 

Over the pandemic, the two rekindled a musical collaboration that first began with hardcore bands in grade school, and the addition of Sullivan through mutual jam-session acquaintances solidified this current lineup. Kelly understands that what began as a solo project to fill in various gaps of what and where he was working at the time has now evolved into a full-fledged band. This timeline is far from concluded; and while perhaps in the past Kelly would seek immediate clarity or definition of the music that sits currently in front of him, he’s releasing his creative grip and enjoying the excitement of allowing these songs to blossom under the guidance of The Brother Stereo, the band.  

“At the moment these are mainly songs that I’ve developed over the years and have performed solo on acoustic guitar,” he reveals. “I can sometimes hear the full production in my head and a lot of the songs were written for a band. However, I’ll present a song to Shawn and Buddy that I think may not lend itself to a full band and they will just make magic out of it. Whatever style the song ends up being is part of our sound. I love bands that give you what you expect, but I also love bands that can make any style they do sound great. We all come from different musical backgrounds, so I like when a lot of those are highlighted. We don’t force anything to happen, it just happens.”

What happens next is filling the trio with excitement. Aside from the upcoming release of “The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten),” The Brother Stereo hope to make their live debut by the end of the year, and are readying new songs that should comprise a debut album, arriving in 2025.   

But Kelly is content for now in allowing these remarkable songs to resonate with the listener, and a spaced-out release strategy, spitting in the face of the needy attention economy, serves to let each piece of Brother Stereo music to fully marinate. It’s music that takes hold, a slow burn in the age of instant gratification, with new discoveries surfacing with each repeated listen.  

“With all the songs I just hope people can relate to them in one way or another,” Kelly concludes. “I think the main theme in all of these is just about being human.”    

And that holds true whether one is washed up and seemingly forgotten, or not. 

The Brother Stereo is:

Michael Robert Kelly: Vocals,  guitar, bass

Shawn Pelkey: Drums

Buddy Sullivan: Guitar

The Brother Stereo short bio:

The Brother Stereo is an alternative rock trio based in Massachusetts. Formed by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Robert Kelly, the brother of Dropkick Murphys drummer Matt Kelly and the Boston punk band’s substitute touring bass, banjo and mandolin player, the band is rounded out by guitarist Buddy Sullivan and drummer Shawn Pelkey. Debut single “After The Rain” dropped in May 2024, followed by “Time in History” in August and “The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)” in October. More new music is on the way, leading to The Brother Stereo’s debut record set for release in the not too distant future.    

‘The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)’ production credits:

Recorded and produced by The Brother Stereo 

Mixed by Trevor Buckingham

Mastered by Jay Frigoletto @ MasterSuite

‘The Ballad of the Washed Up (and Seemingly Forgotten)’ single artwork:

Media praise for The Brother Stereo:

“The Brother Stereo bring a refreshing bout of sustained smoothness on ‘Time In History’ which boasts a killer atmosphere that twinkles and tantalizes to draw listeners in to the solid soloing and vivid storytelling within.” _Rock And Roll Fables

“‘Time in History’ marks a significant breakthrough for The Brother Stereo, who continue to work on new music with a view to their first album. According to Kelly, the band is at the beginning of a creative journey that promises many more songs in the future.” _Wave Pressure Magazine

“The Brother Stereo have a sound that is oddly nostalgic despite not quite sounding like any specific time… [‘Time in History’] has a classic feel, although it does sound like a recording from 2024. It’s almost like songwriter Michael Robert Kelly time traveled back to the 90's to blow everyone’s mind with what the future sounded like. It’s an engrossing power ballad with flashes of psychedelia, and it has one of the best and most intense guitar solos to come out of Boston this century.” _If It’s Too Loud

“There is this beautiful mystique about ‘Time In History’ from The Brother Stereo. The melody slowly rises coupled with lyrics that feel like they come from a well known poetry anthology. [it’s] an artistic and musical experience that you cannot ignore.” _The Whole Kameese

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