Wartime Cartoons

My Brother’s Keeper is truly a “band of brothers.” The brothers are Titus Luckhaupt, Benjamin Luckhaupt, and Joshua Luckhaupt. Titus plays mandolin, Benjamin is on guitar, and Joshua plays fiddle, harmonica, piano, and organ. All three cover the vocals, and they are joined on this project by Wyatt “Sawmill” Murray (bass, vocals) and Adam Moehlman (fiddle, viola, vocals).  

This Ohio-based group offers a 16-song selection of folk, ballads, bluegrass, gospel, and a couple of instrumentals, and they have written or co-written all of the material on this project. The session kicks off with the gospel “My Shepard Walks Beside Me.” Other gospel-oriented tunes include “I Long To Rest By Gentle Waters By and By,” with flute and piano, and there is “God Leads His Dear Children Along,” the classic “Poor Wayfaring Stranger,” and there is a bonus gospel track, “Touchdown Jesus,” with help from Joseph Terrell on guitar and vocal. 

The cut “Jimmie” features a host of guest vocalists that include Luckhaupt family members Jason and Elijah, along with a few others. There are a couple of soulful ballads like “What Road / What Distance,” “James,” and “Life and Death Are Twisted Vines,” and the two instrumentals are the organ solo “Sunday Morning 9:53 AM (page 354 in the light blue hymnal),” and the title cut “Wartime Cartoons.” 

Other selections include “Love’s Gonna Win In The End,” “Smile! It’s The End of the World,” “Learning to Let Go,” and “March Madness (Easter 2024).” This is a very good project from this brother-led group with some nice double fiddle work among the pleasant instrumentation and vocals.