Now I'm in something of a quandary. I'm diligent and do research and it turns out that Barricades Rise have an excellent website/blog that pretty much sums up the life of the part time musician on the up and up. They handle the inevitable apathy and disinterest that an acoustic duo trying to make their mark suffer with both good grace and an almost relentlessly upbeat outlook. Commendable indeed.
That said, I'm not sure that their album will do much to help them make their mark. "All I Have Is Here" is, without doubt, the work of most earnest gentlemen but they fall too easily into the trap set by so many of their strumming predecessors. For every proto rock ballad, such as "Just For Tonight", that would merit putting ink on a publishing deal, there is a matching example of acoustic awkwardness like "Folk Songs and Jazz Bands" that makes them sound just like every other acoustic duo that you have never heard of.
Don't get me wrong for there is nothing actually wrong with "All I Have Is Here" but it is exactly what you would expect of an acoustic duo these days. I would really have liked to have been more positive about this album. Really, I would.