Nat & Alex Wolff

Nat & Alex Wolff

Even as sibling actors Nat and Alex Wolff outgrew their childhood stint as Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band in the 2000s to become respected actors, they’ve retained the fraternal musical bond they established as kids. Recording under their own names since 2011, the Wolffs have gradually blossomed into sophisticated tunesmiths who filter classic ’70s singer-songwriter craft and lush ’80s soft-rock ambiance through post-Antonoff indie-pop aesthetics. Their self-titled fourth album makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a series of private exchanges, none more romantic than “Soft Kissing Hour,” an unfiltered acoustic serenade illuminated by heavenly harmonies from their former tourmate Billie Eilish. On the equally intimate “I Can’t Hurt You Anymore,” the make-out sessions have given way to breakup conversations, and even the gentle piano taps and quivering violins can’t sugarcoat the bitter sentiments. But more than chart their growing confidence as songwriters, the album is also a testament to the brothers’ expanding musical vision: “Candy Speak” begins as a lo-fi piano sketch before dropping the curtain to reveal a grand orchestral ballad that evokes Elliott Smith’s Dreamworks era, while “Midnight Song” stokes its indie-folk embers into a cyclonic blaze of buzzing guitars, screeching strings, and frenetic drums.