The Barr Brothers Document Transformation On New Album ‘Let It Hiss’

The Barr Brothers announced their fourth studio album, Let It Hiss, will be released on October 17 via Secret City Records. Siblings Brad Barr and Andrew Barr gave fans a taste of their first new record in eight years by dropping its swaggering title track.

Brad and Andrew Barr, who burst onto the scene in the late-1990s as two-thirds of The Slip, self-produced the 10-track follow-up to 2017’s Queens Of The Breakers. The pair recorded Let It Hiss mainly as a duo at their Montreal studio, with mix engineer Jon Low (The National, Bon Iver. Contributors include My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, Patrick Watson, Elizabeth Powell (Land Of Talk) and Klô Pelgag.

The Barr Brothers have been working on Let It Hiss in fits and spurts over the eight years following the release of Queens Of The Breakers. Brad and Andrew went through a turbulent period while recording the LP but have come out the other side transformed, with a new approach towards their music.

“In 2022, we found ourselves at a breaking point,” revealed Brad Barr, the group’s guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter. “It was clear something had to change. The real story of this record is the story of that change and everything that came after.”

“Let it Hiss is what happened when we stopped pretending everything was fine and finally listened to what was actually going on,” added drummer, percussionist and vocalist Andrew Barr.

The title of the album reflects an ethos the duo employed. “It just felt right,” Andrew explained. “To leave the hiss in. The discomfort, the imperfection, the struggle. We stopped trying to clean it all up. That’s when the music started to breathe again.”

Lead single and title track “Let It Hiss” emerged from an extended jam session. Stream “Let It Hiss” below:

Let It Hiss Tracklist

1. Take it From Me
2. Let it Hiss
3. English Harbour
4. Run Right Into It
5. Moonbeam
6. She Doesn’t Sleep with the Covers On
7. Naturally
8. Owning Up to Everyone
9. Another Tangerine
10. Upsetter

A tour announcement is expected in the coming weeks. Catch The Barr Brothers over the 4th of July Weekend at the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California.