17. What the Brothers Sang (w/ Dawn McCarthy) (2013)

For Oldham’s most recent album, he and his The Letting Go collaborator Dawn McCarthy crack open the Great American Songbook, covering 13 Everly Brothers songs. So do these old standards tell us anything about the 21st century? The oohs and aahs of “Milk Train” are certainly timeless, though I’m not sure what the world gains from “Somebody Help Me,” a song written in 1966 covered here as a 1980’s cock rock jam.

For an artist who’s at his best exploring the fringes of American folk traditions, a cover of standards doesn’t exactly play to Oldham’s strengths. That said, he and McCarthy are obviously talented performers. And by sticking largely to the script, What the Brothers Sang is a vast improvement over Oldham’s last collection of covers, The Brave and the Bold. However, in a discography that spans 19 albums, you can probably leave this one at home.