Graham Reid | | <1 min read
The Watson Twins: Midnight
This album might be surprisingly short -- a mere 33 minutes -- but it represents a significant and reasonably impressive shift in direction for Chandra and Leigh Watson who here call on friends from My Morning Jacket and Everest for an album that is by turns moody bluesy and soulful, all delivered with a pop economy.
The folk and rootsy blues which was their hallmark on Southern Manners either takes a backseat or is abandoned completely on songs which throb with passion (over organ and hard electric guitars) or take on torch balladry with complete confidence.
If you tuned in to these people when they appeared with Jenny Lewis on her rootsy Rabbit Fur Coat then be prepared for a surprise, for here the refernces are Sixties soul-pop and r'n'b alongside nightclub blues and smoky ballads.
They don't have the most memorable of voices (unlike Duffy, Dusty, Beth Rowley et al) and it's a shame to note the opener Modern Man, Harpeth River and Tell Me Why don't quite live up to their promise (especially on an album so short).
But if this is a "hope you like our new direction" calling card then the answer is a qualified "Yes".
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