The fields of American are rich in nutrients given the bountiful crop of revivalist bands chock full of all the things that are or, more correctly, were probably good for you but don’t actually taste of anything. No surprise then that the clearly earnest and wholesome music of The Tillers contains nothing that will cause you to remember them.
There is no doubting the picking, plucking and tapping skills of Mike Oberst and the Brothers Geil but, like so many other bands, in the genre, they seem to have fall under the spell of the somnambulist with only “I Gotta Move” just about managing the shift to second gear. Otherwise it’s the same old songs with the same old lyrical themes and the same old tempo.
The Tillers are just another anodyne band hooked on the mediocrity of Americana. I’m sure they could do better but I’m equally sure that they simply can’t be bothered to do so.