Siblings Matthew Barber and Jill Barber , until now had never made a collaborative album. The Family Album consists of five new compositions that were written specifically for this album and exist largely in the folk/country/old-time-songbook world. Matthew’s “The Sweeter The Dawn” floats dreamily and burns slowly while the ballad “Grandpa Joe” is a tribute to the siblings’ Scottish maternal grandfather they never knew. Jill’s “Today” is a classic affirmation of love in the face of fear. The rest of the album is comprised of six covers; chosen from a long list of songs that were pitched, discussed, attempted and roughly recorded during a few sessions in Vancouver (Jill’s home), Toronto (Matthew’s home) and California (during a family vacation). The songs selected are of personal significance, relevant to the album’s themes of loyalty, time, memories and, of course, family, or simply for how much fun they were to sing.