For two decades, The
Watson Twins' entwined voices have taken them across the world. They double
down on those road-warrior roots with Seeing Double, a live record that
captures the critically-acclaimed duo onstage in their adopted hometown of East
Nashville, backed by an amplified band and their own southern songwriting.
For a group whose
songs have helped shape the sound of modern-day American roots music, Seeing
Double gives The Watson Twins an opportunity to showcase the full range of
their catalog. The album's career-spanning track list features material from
five of The Watson Twins' releases, including Southern Manners EP (2005), Fire
Songs (2008), Talking To You, Talking To Me (2010), DUO (2018), and HOLLER
(2023). There are honky-tonk songs, vintage-sounding country ballads,
high-spirited soul standouts, and contemporary Americana anthems, all fueled by
the identical sisters' close harmonies and laced with contributions from
bandmates Russ Pollard (Everest, Sebadoh), Steven Cooper (Nicole Atkins,
Patrick Sweeney), Thayer Sarrano (Of Montreal, Cracker) and Ryan Williams (The
Native Sibling, Grizfolk). Butch Walker, the multi-platinum songwriter who
produced HOLLER, also makes an appearance, joining the band on standout
performances of "Never Be Another You" and "Sissy Said."
Years earlier, when
The Watson Twins recorded HOLLER at Walker's Nashville studio, they did so in a
series of live takes. It was a move that captured the spirit and spontaneity of
their concerts in real time, with the sisters even tracking their vocals simultaneously,
both singers standing within arm's length of one another and matching their
vowel sounds while the tape rolled. Perhaps that's why Seeing Double feels so
effortlessly natural, highlighting The Watson Twins' skills not only as a sharp
songwriters and stunning singers, but as live performers, too.
During Seeing
Double's cover of The Cure's 1980s classic "Just Like Heaven," The
Watson Twins show themselves to be interpreters, too. Their studio version of
the song was released in 2008 and earned accolades from outlets like American
Songwriter UK, who dubbed it "a sweet, gentle, and notably different
approach to the gothic rock love song." On Seeing Double, Chandra and
Leigh channel all the bliss and contentment of the song's title into a
performance that's filled with harmonies, harmonica, and plenty of heart.