The Civil Wars, a name aptly chosen

The Civil Wars is — or perhaps was — a duo made up of singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White, who originally met in Nashville, the American country music capital. They are sometimes labeled as country or folk, but they don’t fit neatly into either category. Their music might be better characterized as “Americana,” a mix of folk, country, blues and roots rock. In 2011, they released their critically and commercially successful debut album ‘Barton Hollow,’ which featured the title track and the ballad “Poison & Wine” and were nominated for a number of country and Americana music awards. They won Grammy Awards for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album and also collaborated with Taylor Swift on a song from ‘The Hunger Games’ soundtrack, “Safe & Sound,” which garnered further award nominations. They toured with Adele and appeared on numerous television shows. Then, suddenly, in late 2012, they announced that they were going on “hiatus,” amid rumors that they had split acrimoniously and were no longer on speaking terms. However, they had already recorded their second album, the appropriately titled ‘The Civil Wars,’ which was released in August of this year and went straight to the top of the charts in the US. While ‘Barton Hollow’ contained a couple of heavier tracks, including the title track, this side of their music is even more prominent on their second album. The opening track and only single from the album, “The One That Got Away,” is a powerful, dark song with Williams on lead vocals and a sound reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” The second track, the bluesy “I Had Me a Girl,” features White on lead vocals and if anything is even heavier, with a sound that would not have been out of place on an early Led Zeppelin album. “Same Old Same Old,” on the other hand, is a country ballad about the difficulties of a long-term relationship. “Dust to Dust,” one of the album’s featured tracks (a video was made for it), is also a ballad, though the country element is a little less prominent. With a strong melody and lyrics about two lonely people finding love, it’s one of the album’s most memorable tracks. This is followed by several well-written album tracks, including the acoustic “Eavesdrop,” the upbeat country anthem “From This Valley” and the dark “Devil’s Backbone,” which is another heavy track like the two opening songs. Another standout song is “Oh Henry,” with its catchy chorus contrasting with the lyrics, in which a woman threatens to kill her man if he fools around on her. “Oh Henry” is sandwiched between two covers, which illustrate the eclectic taste of Williams and White. The first of these is “Tell Mama,” a song made famous by soul great Etta James in the late 1960s. The second is “Disarm,” originally a hit for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins in the 1990s. The Civil Wars’ versions of these songs are quite different from the originals, being considerably more mellow and low-key, but they are fascinating examples of the breadth of the duo’s taste, something they had already demonstrated with the covers that appeared as bonus tracks to ‘Barton Hollow,’ which included Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” But as good as the covers are, ‘The Civil Wars’ is still most notable for its solid and diverse original material, all written by Williams and White, in some cases together with a third co-writer. There’s country, folk, and blues-tinged country rock, and even a song in French (“Sacred Heart”). With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to see hints of tension between Williams and White in some of the songs, which are generally darker and more emotionally intense than most of their debut. It’s also notable that they sing together less than on the first album, with many tracks featuring lead vocals mostly or entirely by one of the two, with Williams handling the lion’s share. Though the two were apparently not romantically involved, their relationship was nevertheless intense and judging from their sudden split, sometimes stormy. Williams has expressed hope that The Civil Wars may someday end their own civil war and work together again. But if they don’t, they at least left behind a strong legacy in this album.