Listen to “My Brother’s Bones” here: https://orcd.co/qwopn9z 

Watch the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi5G_Zn74gc

August 22, 2025 — Pennsylvania-based multi-instrumentalist Hunter Root has released “My Brother’s Bones,” the second single from his upcoming album Crooked Home (out October 17 via Tolok.) The song is a deeply personal promise and prayer, a vow to one day give his late brother, who died four years ago at 27, a proper burial site and headstone. While its lyrics wrestle with loss and longing, “My Brother’s Bones” is far from somber. Root delivers the story through a twangy, folk-pop arrangement anchored by blazing guitar riffs, toe-tapping percussion, and a hook that begs to be sung in unison.

Recorded in Nashville at Addiction Studios with overdubs at The Sound Emporium, Crooked Home was produced by acclaimed artist Anders Osborne and engineered by David Kalmusky. Conceived after his brother’s death in 2021, Crooked Home is Root’s first album to directly grapple with that loss, with songs like “‘94,” “Low,” “Hand In The Fire,” and “My Brother’s Bones” confronting grief head-on. Featuring contributions from Chad Cromwell (Neil Young, Mark Knopfler) on drums, Marc Rogers on bass and keys, and Lindsay Lou on backing vocals, the record blends acoustic rock, folk, Americana, and grunge into a sound as raw as its subject matter.

“My Brother’s Bones” is one of the album’s most poignant moments, pairing upbeat, radio-ready energy with unflinching lyrical honesty. Over a buoyant groove, Root sings of his brother’s remains: “My brother’s bones ain’t got no home / But I’m gonna buy him a big tombstone” — balancing grief with quiet resilience and a melody that lingers long after the last note. Born from loss but built on love, it’s a cathartic, unforgettable ode.