When we first met Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter – better known as The War And Treaty – it was a hot Boulder, CO afternoon and they put on such a rousing performance that they had a tent full of lunch-eating, (dare I say) jaded music professionals on their feet, ignoring the meals in front of them while totally rapt in the musical heat of the moment. The rousing set of undefinable music that combines all that’s great about Blues, Rock, Soul, R&B, Gospel and Jazz immediately put them on the radar of radio programmers, as well as getting their self-released album on the playlists those programmers curate. Fast forward a few years and the War And Treaty is signed to Concord/Rounder and about to push more boundaries with their label debut, Hearts Town.
Hearts Town kicks off with the rocking “Yearning,” putting the Trotters’ seamless harmonies on display before winding through a diverse set of stellar tracks like the Blues-driven “Lonely In My Grief,” the ballad “Liquid Lies,” the driving “Jealousy,” which marries killer guitar with the crescendo of welling strings, and the Stax-like single “Five More Minutes.” The result is a cohesive set that allows The War And Treaty to explore the full range of their talents, elevating them past their prior successes.
Having spent most of 2019 on the road touring with artists like Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell, The War And Treaty have made their mark on the concert halls of America and are poised to see their career explode when touring resumes. With a large portion of the JBE Triple A panel– including Lightning 100, 88.5FM/Los Angeles, Colorado Sound, Birmingham Mountain Radio and WTMD, to name just a few – already on Hearts Town, one can only hope that’s sooner rather than later.
Photo by David McClister
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