Music Review: The Watson Twins' "Talking To You, Talking To Me"

By our guest blogger, Meg O'Malley

The Watson Twins are best known for their back-up of Jenny Lewis on 2006’s "Rabbit Fur Coat." Here, on what is their third studio album, the Watson Twins are finally coming into their own and stepping out of the shadows of other musicians. "Talking To You, Talking To Me" sounds like a jazzy alt-country album. It’s not nearly as twangy as they were on "Rabbit Fur Coat."  Followers of The Watson Twins will be able to see how they have progressed musically in the past four years.

It falters a bit in the beginning because the first three songs are heavy-hearted ballads, but don’t stop the album there. Although organizing the song list the way they did gives the album a slow sounding feel, this is a fairly solid effort by Chandra and Leigh Watson. As "Talking To You, Talking To Me" progresses, the songs pick up and the twins’ Lilith Fair influences can be heard. This isn’t some bubble gum pop piece of work; instead, it has kind of a down tempo feel even on the most upbeat songs.

Perhaps the strongest piece on the album is “Midnight.” The song has this great guitar solo in the middle--the guitar is reminiscent of those classic rock songs by Cream mixed with Miles Davis. Other songs have very overt influences from other female singers. Fiona Apple can be heard on “Devil in You” and throughout the album, and “U N me” sounds as if it could be straight off a Neko Case album. One of the major snags of the album is “Snow Canyons”--it's a boring song, but they all can’t be winners.

This is not a perfect album, but it is a fine piece of work put out by a group that mostly has been known for their collaborations with others. "Talking To You, Talking To Me" is not an album for everyone. If not a fan of Neko Case or other indie queens, this probably won’t be an enjoyable album. But for those listeners who love the alt-country sound and want to expand away from the already established artists, take a listen to "Talking To You, Talking To Me."