Ross Gay and Busman's Holiday perform together at Buskirk-Chumley Theater

If you think good songs incite joy, find out Nov. 13. Rogers brothers — Addison and Lewis, also known as the band Busman's Holiday — are celebrating their successes along with poet Ross Gay. Busman's Holiday's new album is "Good Songs"; Gay's newest book is "Inciting Joy." The three men are friends, and their release party comes to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Brothers are four years apart but perform almost as one

The "Good Songs" album landed here in Bloomington after its genesis in Montreal, and the brothers had a blast making it.

Writer Stephen Deusner called Busman’s Holiday's new, and third, album "giddily experimental." You'll know what he means when you hear how these Bloomington brothers play around with their vocal folds, producing soaring, descending, unruffled-then-rousing melodies. Electronics can give us funky sounds; the human voice, however, wins.

The brothers' duos contain both harmonies and counterpoints. Sometimes one sings in falsetto, as the other ahh-ahh's in an underscore. Sometimes they sing in unison, blending — perhaps genetically  — similar tones. Addison handles the drums and some of the vocals. Lewis (he's the taller one) plays guitar and piano and sings. Matt Nowlin's and Lewis Rogers' horn and string arrangements add fluidity.

Busman’s Holiday calls out our recurrent feelings of being alone; they call it “only-ness,” and it usually comes with a side dish of anxiety. Singing with one's bro, side by side, helps.

Not that they're derivative, they're not, but you'll pick up tones of the early 1970s and, in moments, might think about the Beach Boys or Paul McCartney.

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At first, Addison wrote most of the songs; now Lewis does. Arguments are mild and circumscribed. These siblings really do like each other, especially now that they're grown.

"When I was 5 I scratched Addison really hard," Lewis said. The scar remains. Young Addison made up for it by dragging little Lewis by the arm, spraining it. Somehow around their mid teens — Addison is older by four years — they clicked, and the fights went the way of baby teeth.

Recording albums can intimidate; it's all so final. Addison recalled recording with Grammy winning producer, engineer and mixer Mark Lawson ("Arcade Fire"): "It was very scary. We recorded a few albums on our own, then got to record with Grammy Award winner Mark Lawson (Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire). You've really gotta bring it now.  Lewis was probably less intimated. He has more prowess."

Getting an album's vocals just right is punishing, Lewis said. It's hard to have perspective when you're the performer. "We made an effort for it to be a good time in the studio, not clinical." Studio recording is like working under a hulking microscope. Scrutiny rules. For this album, the brothers tried for a more unbuttoned approach.

Friend Ross Gay, as usual, incites joy

The acclaimed poet and writer Ross Gay, a friend of the Rogers, is celebrating his new book of essays, "Inciting Joy," released last month. His first book of essays (2019), "The Book of Delights," is a New York Times bestseller.

"(N)oticing what we have in common & studying that might help us survive," Gay says on his website.

Gay is self effacing. He speaks sotto voce. He is also funny. And he has been touring parts of the U.S. talking about "Inciting Joy." His other books are "Against Which"; "Bringing the Shovel Down"; "Be Holding," which took the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and "Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude," which earned the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.

More: Ross Gay recognizedBloomington authors shortlisted for Indiana Authors Awards

Gay and the Rogers brothers have long admired each others' art.

"We're both avid readers of Ross' work," Lewis Rogers said. "He has what we call 'positive thoughtfulness.'"

The Rogers identify with Ross' ability to relate to his audience. His artistic energy, they believe, matches their own. "Ross writes about tough life things," Lewis said. "But it's done in a jovial, easy to process way."

The Rogers and Gay have opened for each others' shows, but this is the first time they've had projects coming out simultaneously.

Busman's Holiday & Ross Gay at the BCT

WHAT: A Night With Busman's Holiday & Ross Gay: A new-release celebration

WHERE: Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Nov. 13

TICKETS: $15 at https://bit.ly/3EbZLfF

MORE: Get a preview of Busman's Holiday at https://bit.ly/3fUNOS2 and for more about the concert, call 812-323-3020 or go to www.buskirkchumley.org

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Busman's Holiday and poet Ross Gay perform at Buskirk-Chumley Theater