Review Summary: Heartwrenching, foot-stomping summer soul
I don’t know what it is about this year, but a soul-heavy blend of American music has really been landing with me. It feels akin, in a certain light, to the concurrent resonance that some of this year's best extreme metal releases have been holding with me. At first brush, these two genres, populated by releases like the summer soundtrack-worthy album
Texas Soul by Micah Edwards and the emotional black metal tidal wave of Panopticon’s
Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet or the post-metal wasteland of Neurosis’
An Undying Love for A Burning World, are at odds. But in my mind they’re improbably tethered together. The latter records grapple with the existential weight of living through an obvious cycle of war, societal upheaval and environmental collapse. The former explores what makes everything still worth fighting for. Situated firmly with the former in this fearsome circle is The War and Treaty’s newest album,
The Story of Michael and Tanya.
The War and Treaty should be no strangers to anyone who’s spent time exploring American roots music. The husband and wife duo have been releasing music together for a decade in a smooth styling that mixes up soul, country and blues. Tanya Trotter brings her professional musical experience stretching back to the 90s to bear alongside her husband, Michael, as this record glides from bluesy soulful crooning on tracks like “Don’t Say Goodbye” and “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore” to straight-up country in cuts like “Reclaim All Of Your Time” and “Darlene and Gene.” The album itself is a bit bifurcated, with the first half leaning into soul and the latter expressing more country and gospel veins before ending with a raucous Chicago blues cut in “High Heels.” Oh, and of course I have to mention that the album kicks off with something of a Greek chorus, led by none other than Whoopi Goldberg herself.
Musically,
The Story of Michael and Tanya is stellar. The production is fully realized and carries a real depth and weight, the vocals are consistently excellent and the instrumentals are exciting and varied. Where the wheels come off just a bit is with the narrative and lyrics. The quality of the music often masks some of the album’s weaker moments. “Darlene and Gene” is a perfect example of this phenomenon. While the song sounds great, the lyrics become repetitive and don’t really move the album forward. As a whole, the record frequently feels like a collection of quite strong songs that explore heartache and anger at past relationships instead of the stated marriage. Some tracks like “Shouldn’t Have” and “Lay This Bottle Down” clearly feel like they’re coming from within the relationship, while other tracks like “Darlene and Gene” and the exceptional “Reclaim All Of Your Time” feel a bit backward gazing. Of course, romance isn’t always linear, but after 15 years of marriage, the album never seems to reach a pinnacle that explores where Michael and Tanya are now. It’s an album mostly concerned with the struggles of love. But perhaps that’s the album that 2026 needs, and why it dovetails so well with the harrowing times we’re living through. Despite all the chaos and pain, globally and in our lives, it’s all still worth fighting for. Give this album a spin and see for yourself.
