Every week, the Milwaukee Music Premiere presented by The Cooperage connects the city’s artists with our listening audience. If you’re an artist with a track you’d like us to debut exclusively on Radio Milwaukee, head over to our Music Submission page to learn how.
Robert and David Perlick-Molinari have traveled quite a distance — literally and figuratively — since forming French Horn Rebellion more than a decade ago. But you’re never so far that you can’t look back, which they do on “Brothers,” a very timely track we’re helping them premiere today.
As you may have figured out from their names, the song’s title isn’t a creative exercise. The Milwaukee-born siblings share a personal and professional connection that’s resulted in three full-length albums, a bunch of EPs and some eye-popping official remixes (Beyoncé, Sia and Two Door Cinema Club, to name three). They’ve also built quite a presence in Brooklyn via their YouTooCanWoo studio complex and toucan sounds record label.
Even with all those things lining the road that brought them where they are today, they could still turn around and see its start. So, when the Miramar Theatre invited them back for a hometown show this Saturday, Robert and David decided it was an ideal time to deliver a project fueled by the past that shares the name of today’s premiere.
“It’s a bit different for us — a small, nostalgic EP that reminds us of growing up together,” they shared with us. “It also touches on the concepts of toxic masculinity … how, being brothers, we sometimes hide from our feelings behind being ‘tough.’ That said, the bond of brothers is deep. When we get to the other side, I imagine our brothers will be the first to greet us in the afterlife with open arms. “
Appropriately, the EP’s title track has an embraceable quality that puts a poppier spin on French Horn Rebellion’s self-described “delightfully bizarre indie electro-funk.” Its springy beat and bassline, along with a simply sung “oooo,” make for an inviting intro that’s followed by an ode to their familial stability in a shaky world:
The weight of the world or the pull of a girl
It’s easy to get me down
But I’ll be fine hanging on to the line
Knowing that you’re still around
I know our road it has no end
From where we go to where we’ve been
Some of our friends have come and gone
But what we’ve got goes on and on
As French Horn Rebellion, it’s been going since 2007 — back when Robert studied French horn performance at Northwestern University and David was building off the success of producing MGMT’s Time to Pretend EP. This Saturday at the Miramar Theatre will be a chance for them to look back even beyond those days, and “Brothers” is the perfect soundtrack.
Listen to the Milwaukee Music Premiere of “Brothers” using the player on this page and on 88Nine throughout the day (6:30 and 10:30 a.m.; 2:30, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.), and find it on French Horn Rebellion’s new EP of the same name.
