Anti-

Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale were both singers, songwriters, acoustic guitarists and hard working performers before they joined forces as the The Milk Carton Kids. They call themselves a band, an apt designation, because they’ve evolved to use rock dynamics, the structures of pop music and the approach of jazz-like improvisation to polish their sound. The music builds on the folk tradition, with melodic and lyrical quotes from familiar folk tunes popping up in their songs, and like all folkies, they address the human condition with a sharp eye and telling insight. With the exception of “Memphis,” which references the failed dreams of the Civil Rights Movement, they’re not overtly political, but even their uptempo tunes tend to be marked by a bit of wistful melancholy.