"Pawn Shop" is the debut album  by the Brothers Osborne.

"Pawn Shop" is the debut album by the Brothers Osborne. Credit: EMI Nashville

BROTHERS OSBORNE

“Pawn Shop”

THE GRADE A-

BOTTOM LINE The country-loving brothers are ready to put bro country out to pasture.

It may not sound like a revolution, but the Brothers Osborne’s debut album, “Pawn Shop” (EMI Nashville), seems ready to upend the reign of “bro country.”

Forget the awkwardly added hip-hop beats and choruses that make beer commercials feel deep.

The sound of T.J. Osborne’s warm drawl and John Osborne’s virtuoso guitar playing in “Stay a Little Longer” cut through all of that clutter like a hot knife through butter, even before John’s masterful guitar solo kicks in, chiming like The Edge circa “The Unforgettable Fire.”

It’s no wonder the brothers landed a Grammy nomination for it even before their debut was released. But they don’t stop there.

T.J. channels early Randy Travis in the reverb-drenched ballad “Loving Me Back,” which gets even more impressive when Lee Ann Womack delivers her harmonies. The soon-to-be anthem “American Crazy” — with its chorus of “We’re left, we’re right, we’re black and we’re white” — may be the most unifying song built for the country mainstream in years. Pair that with the hard-rocking blame-passing “It Ain’t My Fault” and soon the Brothers Osborne will have people wondering “Florida Georgia what?” again.

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME