“How Am I to Be?“
from the album Fire Songs
2008
iTunes
While most music fans are familiar with The Watson Twins from their 2006 collaboration with Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, Rabbit Fur Coat, sisters Chandra and Leigh have a blossoming career of their own. While the Twins occupy the same slice of Americana-inspired indie folk pop as the aforementioned Rilo Kiley, they’ve quickly establishing themselves with their 2006 EP, Southern Manners, and their aptly-named full-length debut, Fire Songs, released this summer on Vanguard Records.
Fire Songs was recorded completely in analog to capture a higher level of intimacy, something that comes through on the peppy, soul-tinged opener “How Am I to Be?” the ballad “Fall,” and the country-infused cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” Though now based in L.A., the Twins draw from their upbringing in Louisville, Kentucky on songs like “Dig a Little Deeper” and “Sky Open Up,” which spring from a rootsier background, all harmonica and acoustic guitar. The Twins keep the listener entranced all the while with their dulcet, chanteuse vocals, reminiscent of Natalie Merchant or a younger Emmylou Harris. The Twins’ music winds it way into your ears, deploying subtle hooks and utilizing the sisters’ sweet, intertwining harmonies to weave a web of warm, folk-pop gems.