All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn't Do
Reports that the acoustic-folk/Americana duo were recording their fourth album with the help of a full band may have led longtime fans to worry Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan were beefing up their understated sound and aiming for some grand sonic gesture. No worry needed: There’s strings, pedal steel, the occasional percussion, and a slow-boiling 10-minute-plus opus, “One More for the Road,” but these stretches don’t overreach or risk upsetting a chemistry that has been working for seven years. Since 2015’s *Monterey*, Pattengale was diagnosed with and recovered from cancer; the songs here are understandably introspective, but they’re never maudlin.
After years of making somber, traditionalist folk on dueling acoustic guitars, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan expand their palette on the duo’s most engaging and diverse record to date.
Album Reviews: The Milk Carton Kids - All The Things I Did And All The Things That I Didn't Do