22 Brides is the eponymous debut for the foursome fronted by sisters
Carrie Johnson on guitar and
Libby Johnson handling keyboards. Various musicians flesh out the unit on
22 Brides, most notably veteran session drummer
Jonathan Mover. Sharing the vocals, the Johnsons lead their band through a dozen tracks of mostly folk-inflected pop/rock. The playing is tight and the harmonies between the sisters are pleasant enough (as on the sweetly melancholic "You Do"). Lyrically, there isn't much here to elevate
22 Brides above the crowd of contemporary female singer/songwriters and they often fall back on tired clichés, with "Transparent" being a good example. Their performance is spirited and sincere (with some upbeat, bluesy numbers thrown into the mix), but, overall, there isn't much that resonates once the album ends. ~ Tom Demalon