Dropkick is the Scottish sibling duo of Alastair and Andrew Taylor. They create an infectious brand of pop-influenced alternative-country music that is lots of fun. They apparently started out as more of a pop-punk band, but over a few years have morphed into the current style, which combines elements of The Byrds, Beatles, They Might Be Giants and Jonathan Richman. If you can imagine that.

Music To Watch Sheep By is brief at 12 tracks and mostly up-tempo fare. Although they have at times performed and recorded with other musicians, notably a bassist, on this effort the two wunderkinds play all the instruments themselves, including lap steel, accordion, ukulele, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki and glockenspiel, in addition to lots of acoustic and electric guitars, bass and drums. It's impressive, although the seat-of-the-pants recording style at times comes off as a bit stilted and contrived.

But for the most part, this is very enjoyable Americana with a Scottish lilt. The two sing with rather high, somewhat nasal voices (that and some of the more esoteric lyrics account for the TMBG comparison), with (I suspect) Alastair taking the lead on most or all tracks. In addition to layering of instruments, the brothers also layer on the harmonies too, for sweet sounds that siblings do so well.

Musically, there's lots of Byrdsian jangle, with ringing 12-strings, plus all kinds of other instruments added to flesh it out. The styles lean heavily toward mid-tempo shuffles, including the acoustic "Two Steps Back," "I Had to Dump Avril," and "I Heard You Say." Thrown into the mix are some mid-tempo rockers, like "Top of the World" and "Crisps and Irn Bru," a country waltz "Walk Away" and the folksy ballad, "Six Feet Deep."

The subject matter mostly deals with love, of course, and generally not in a positive vein. Sunny pop songs about sad love would be a good definition. There are some interesting variations on the theme, though. "Last Night You Died On Your Arse" is an achingly sincere song about a person who wants to get love but can't give it -- geek-rock lyrics set to a country shuffle, replete with banjo, mandolin, lap steel and harmonica -- it's tears in your beer time. "Six Feet Deep" is a chilling portrait of women who apparently fall victim to a serial killer -- an ugly one and a pretty one -- and then the elderly one who seems to turn the tables. Curious, that. Oh, and "Crisps and Irn Bru" is a jangly rocker about a girl obsessed with working out and dieting. I had to look up the reference to Irn Bru, a curious libation sometimes referred to as Scotland's other favorite drink.