Carter's Chord's 2011 EP, Wild Together. Photo courtesy of Show Dog-Universal Music.

For sisters Joanna, Emily and Becky Robertson, country music has always been a way of life – it’s in their blood. In fact, the three sisters that are Carter’s Chord spent their childhood learning from some of country’s greatest heroes as their parents, Barny and Carter, were part of Outlaw legend Waylon Jennings’ recording and touring band. On Wild Together, the trio’s sophomore album for Toby Keith’s Show Dog-Universal Music, vocal harmonies shine as the girls blend their musical upbringing with a contemporary sound.

Co-writing all six songs, the sisters waste no time showcasing their dynamic harmonies, as they launch into the chorus of the uptempo title cut “Wild Together.” With layered textures that only sibling harmonies can create, they sing “We could be wild, wild together/ Just you and me and our crazy dreams,” in controlled chaos while their voices beautifully intertwine. On the album’s first single, the acoustic-based power ballad “A Little Less Comfortable,” deep piano undertones add extra drama while the girls sing of longing for a more unpredictable love. “Don’t wanna go through the motions just because it’s easy,” they sing before repeating in rising harmony, “A little less comfortable” to close the song. [Watch the video HERE.]

Co-produced by Toby Keith and Mark Wright, with their father Barny Robertson serving as Associate Producer, Wild Together is a fantastic demonstration in vocal harmony. While songs like “Wild Together” and “A Little Less Comfortable” are more radio-friendly and contemporary-leaning, two exquisite songs based in a more traditional sound anchor the entire collection.

On the hypnotic “I Can Break Hearts Too,” reverb-drenched guitars provide an eerie backdrop to the sisters’ multi-layered harmonies. Starting deceptively simple, the vocal interaction gets increasingly more complex as the song moves along from verse to verse and chorus to chorus. In the third verse, a dynamic construction of harmonies flow as the vocal lines move from call and response through the lines, “So move along/ I wish you well,” into a chorus where the backing harmonies weave effortlessly in and out of the main vocal line singing, “You knock me down, but I got back up/ I almost drowned in your flood.” Such sophisticated harmonies are an absolute joy to listen to and get wrapped up in.

Later on, the dramatic mandolin and fiddle that open “Simple Little Screwed Up Life” foreshadow that this bluegrass-tinged song is anything but what the title suggests. The words “Are you fallin’ or are you just talkin’/ Sayin’ what I wanna hear/ It’s music to my ears” cut to the core of the song’s contrasting feelings, all the while a beautiful bed of vocal harmonies supports the main voice. “Am I gonna leave you babe or will I stay the night,” the main character contemplates through conflicting desires.

However, Wild Together is not a grouping of conflicting songs. Instead, the album takes shape through elegantly constructed harmonies blending like the musical influences that run through the Robertson sisters.

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