Earlier this year, The Harters just barely charted with "Jenny," a melodic, interesting little cut that sounded like a total hit to my ears. But for some reason, that song just never took off — almost every week it was on, it seemed to be moving backwards from its debut at #54 instead of forward. Whatever it was that kept it from being a hit, I'll never know. This time around, the sibling trio offers us "If I Run", a slower and softer ballad that should easily make up for "Jenny" not taking off. 

Set to a distinctive 6/8 time signature, it has a lovely, straightforward lyric. "If I run, will you run after me? / If I walk, will you wait patiently? / If I fall, will you have sympathy / If I run, if I run, will you run after me?" Later on, she offers little details, the most interesting being the two of them sitting in rocking chairs with salt and pepper hair. The production is rather delightfully uncluttered; though there's obviously a string section in there, it's never obtrusive, and blends in very well with the piano, mandolin and light drums. Once again, though, Scott and Michael's harmonies overpower their sister's lead vocal at times, but all three have strong enough voices that it hardly matters. 

Maybe it's because I wrote this review the same day that I wrote my Band Perry review, but it seems that both The Band Perry and The Harters fall into a fairly similar niche: both are trios consisting of a female lead singer and her two brothers, and both have a surprisingly acoustic sound. The Harters set themselves apart by retaining a rootsier sound and lyric, as opposed to the slightly flashier Perry siblings, so I have every reason to believe that there's room for two brother-brother-sister groups on radio.

You can support The Harters by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.