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Ivan & Alyosha

First Listen: Ivan & Alyosha, 'All The Times We Had'

Ivan & Alyosha's first full-length album, All the Times We Had, comes out Feb. 26. Kyle Dean Reinford/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Kyle Dean Reinford/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Ivan & Alyosha, 'All The Times We Had'

It's about time Ivan & Alyosha received due praise as a standard-bearer for hyper-accessible, harmony-rich roots music: The band writes gorgeous, swelling, impeccably built songs about love and faith, and performs them with real charm.

Be Your Man

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Ivan And Alyosha On Mountain Stage

Ivan & Alyosha performed on Mountain Stage. Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage hide caption

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Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

Ivan And Alyosha On Mountain Stage

The Seattle indie-pop band brings the Beatles-esque harmonies and infectious guitar hooks of their second EP, Fathers Be Kind, to West Virginia's most famous stage.

Ivan And Alyosha On Mountain Stage

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Ivan And Alyosha: Spiritual Concerns, But Folky Twists

Ivan and Alyosha takes its name from characters in the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel, The Brothers Karamazov. José Mandojana/Courtesy of the Artist hide caption

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José Mandojana/Courtesy of the Artist

Music Interviews

Ivan And Alyosha: Spiritual Concerns, But Folky Twists

The Seattle band Ivan and Alyosha counts neither an Ivan nor an Alyosha among its ranks. It takes its name from characters in the Dostoevsky novel The Brothers Karamazov. Turns out the questions of faith in that book can be found in this group's music, too — however inverted.

Listen Now

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Ivan And Alyosha: Tiny Desk Concert
Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Tiny Desk

Ivan And Alyosha: Tiny Desk Concert

In preparation for SXSW 2010, we each listened to some 1,300 songs. Among the favorites was "Easy to Love" by Ivan and Alyosha. Watch the band showcase its Beatles-esque harmonies and sweet melodies.

Ivan & Alyosha: Tiny Desk Concert

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Ivan And Alyosha: Love For The Lovable

"Easy to Love," from Ivan and Alyosha's debut EP, is a sweetly booming ode to love as a feat of endurance. Jenny Jimenez hide caption

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Jenny Jimenez

Review

Song Of The Day

Ivan And Alyosha: Love For The Lovable

There's more to "Easy to Love" than mere likeability. A propulsive, sweetly booming ode to love as a feat of endurance, the song lays out a matter-of-fact guide to surviving hard times before it even gets to its simple but irresistible chorus.

'Easy to Love' by Ivan and Alyosha

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