Long Island songwriting duo Matt and Andrew Como release their new album, ‘Whisper in the Wind’

The Como Brothers’ ‘Whisper in the Wind’ is seventeen tracks, out now, with a mood for most occasions.

Need courage? Andrew Como describes ‘Somewhere in This Cup’ in one sentence: a song about liquid courage. Feeling doubted? ‘Wanna Be’ opens on a reggae skeleton and gets bigger and bolder as it goes, a song for anyone who’s been called a wannabe and kept going anyway. Falling for someone? ‘Magic’ is, in Andrew’s words, a song about puppy love and infatuation. Believing in someone without proof? ‘Halo or Wings’ has you covered. Played to an empty bar? ‘The Ride’ remembers when the bartender was the only fan in the room. And when you’re ready to close the night, ‘Life With You’ arrives in full-band glory.

SPOTIFY | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | X | TIKTOK

I expected a sunny opener. ‘Halo or Wings’ had other ideas. The guitar sits low and a little moody, the toms pound away underneath, and yet the words are completely smitten: a narrator who flicks through scripture, finds no mention of the person he loves and decides she fell from heaven anyway. It shouldn’t work. It does, and I spent most of the track trying to work out why. The brothers say it’s the song to play someone new to the band, because it sounds unlike anything they’ve done before. The mood is dark, the message is bright. Joe Ragosta co-wrote it, and you can hear two songwriters enjoying the contrast.

After that I settled into ‘You Remind Me’, a coming-of-age song rooted in Port Jefferson, the harbour town the brothers are from. By then I was in for all seventeen tracks; If you like songs with a bit of story behind them, put ‘Whisper in the Wind’ on while you’re doing something else. Then see how long you keep doing the something else