Artist Comparison: Cary Brothers / Chris Stills

Okay, it's been a long time since I've done a bunch of my regular features, and the recent A Fine Frenzy/ Chris Stills concert's got me back into the swing of things with a review, so here goes. Today, the two artists are Chris Stills and Cary Brothers, two singer/songwriters whom I've both seen in concert and whom I've become a fan of.

I've listened to Cary Brothers a lot more than I have with Chris Stills, because of Brother's heavy media influence with a number of TV shows and his stint on Garden State's soundtrack, along with his first album, Who You Are.

Stills and Brothers both play and sing in a way that's very similar to one another. They're both in the 'Adult Alternative' genre that's popular with the 20-30 year olds, and have an overall similar sound - both male vocalists, they both play piano and guitar, and have a good, solid tone to their sound. They're not carbon copies of one another, but while listening to both of their works, I hear a number of similarities.

Stylistically, they both have a good vocal range, and vary their energy and speed a bit - Blue Eyes vs. Who You Are for Cary Brothers and When the Pain Dies Down and Fool For Love with Chris Stills.

Additionally, they're both from California, singer-songwriters. I can really see these two guys touring together, or even collaborating - it'd be a fun listen. Most of all, they've both got a really solid sound that I really like, something that's pretty easy to listen to.

When the Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills
If You Were Here - Cary Brothers

Hype - Buy