1. How Am I to Be
2. Lady Love Me
3. Fall
4. Just Like Heaven
5. Map to Where You Are
6. Dig a Little Deeper
7. Sky Open Up
8. Bar Woman Blues
9. Only You
10. Old Ways
11. Waves
Attention dads! Have you ever bought an album on the back of a recommendation from Michael Parkinson? Do you get the shivers at the idea of pretty young ladies singing blues, country, jazz, gospel, or indeed anything from back in the day that's played with proper instruments? And do you wish that more young musicians these days would follow the example of Katie Melua or Norah Jones, and show some gosh-darned respect for our glorious musical heritage?
Well, you're in for a treat with Fire Songs, the debut full-length release from The Watson Twins. For one thing, they're steeped in every rootsy influence that Radio 2 can throw at them. For another thing, they're pretty young ladies. And - here's the icing on the cake - they're identical twins. Twins! The prospect is enough to keep the dads awake at night, entertaining all sorts of country/blues/pretty lady/identical twin fantasies.
It will come as no surprise, then, to hear that Fire Songs is a well-written and well-performed album which draws competently upon many traditional sources; but which fails to make much of an impression. Which is a shame, given that the twins first reached a wide audience via their excellent collaboration with Jenny Lewis on 2005's Rabbit Fur Coat.
That album was a softer, more explicitly country-inflected take on Lewis' work with Rilo Kiley; but stood out thanks to Lewis' musical transcendence of her sources and expressive vocals. Here the Watson Twins have been promoted from backing singers to lead act, and whilst - on paper, at least - they're qualified for the job, they're never going to be employees of the month.
For the most part, Fire Songs is a pleasant but unchallenging trawl through America's musical past, leaning mainly towards country and gospel. No doubt it'll be described elsewhere as alt-country, but of course very few artists actually contribute any genuine alt-ness to the genre (sorry, Ryan Adams, not even you), and The Watson Twins don't count among those.
There are a couple of highlights. Opener How Am I To Be, with its louche take on the country-rock formula, pushes its arrangement close to Dusty Springfield's brassy 60s work. Another interesting moment is an almost indistinguishable cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven, which strips out the post-punk chiming guitars and replays the song as a slow, harmonica-led country number. Even though it's a cover, it's ten times more original than The Killers or any of their 'indie' peers aping The Cure directly; and is proof positive, if proof was needed, that a great song works in almost any genre.
Overall, driving music for dads: nothing wrong with that, but us kids need a little more stimulation when listening to the wireless.
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