The Milk Carton Kids

On their seventh studio album, Lost Cause Lover Fool, The Milk Carton Kids offer nine songs that, more than ever, invite listeners to lean in close and linger inside the small moments the record quietly magnifies.

When Los Angeles–based singer-songwriters Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan first emerged in 2011, they did so with a sound as unassuming as their “marketing” plan. They recorded their ten-song debut, Prologue, with just their two guitars and two voices. They posted it online as a free download, sending the link to friends via email. Even amidst the foot stomps and hand claps carrying Folk into the mainstream, hundreds of thousands of people managed to find Prologue in that first year. From the beginning, The Milk Carton Kids were more interested in precision than volume.

“We were very conscious back then of trying to make our two voices sound like one thing,” Ryan recalls. “And we wanted our guitars to sound like one instrument too.”

Lost Cause Lover Fool is the clearest distillation of that idea yet. With roots-leaning arrangements and a deep trust in space, the album expands the duo’s signature minimalist sound while somehow making it even more focused.