The music of Chandra and Leigh Watson has been called alt-country, Americana and retro. On their new album, however, the sisters—who perform as the Watson Twins—reinvent their sound as something at the same time fresh and nostalgically appealing. “Sonically, there are some changes from our earlier material, mixing moments of soul, bossa nova and indie pop,” says Chandra, who worked on the resulting record, Talking to You, Talking to Me, with identical sister Leigh and producers/musicians Russell Pollard and J. Soda in a place far, far removed from Amy Winehouse territory: a turn-of-the-century cabin nestled in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. “No cell phones, no TV, just music 24/7. [It] allowed us to fully dig into these tunes and try to craft each song.”
The twins grew up in Louisville, but their songs—and harmonies—have taken them all over. Their wistful version of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” appeared on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for HBO’s “True Blood” (“The ironic part about the whole situation is that neither of us have cable and watch very little TV," Chandra says), and the now-L.A.-based duo are coming home for a live in-store performance Tuesday at Ear X-tacy. “There is a certain amount of pressure when you know family and lifelong friends are going to be in the audience, [but] the amount of love and support coming back is amazing,” Chandra says. “It seemed there would be no better way to celebrate the [new album’s] release than in our hometown at the record store that we grew up going to.” The performance, which will feature new material, will be simulcast on WFPK (91.9 FM).
Ear X-tacy is at 1534 Bardstown Rd., and the performance is scheduled for 5:00 P.M. Learn more about the Watson Twins at www.thewatsontwins.com
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Photo: Courtesy: The Watson Twins
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