Twins’ songs need a fire under them
Hailing from Kentucky but based in Los Angeles, Chandra and Leigh Watson each possess a smoky voice,
but their harmonies are more than the sum of their parts, so closely intertwined that they become indistinguishable and all the more powerful. The Twins added a gilding of AM country gold to Jenny Lewis’ solo debut,
Rabbit Fur Coat, in 2006, but their own releases—mini album
Southern Manners and their new full-length debut,
Fire Songs—are much better showcases for their pristine vocals, wrapping them in a warm blanket of violins and folksy guitars. Unfortunately, the Twins aren’t so compelling as songwriters, and too many of these fire songs sound merely serviceable, with mellow hooks and humdrum sentiments. “Map To Where You Are” stands out, thanks to its Silvertone guitar and mariachi horns, but the rest of these songs—even a low-key cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”—sound more or less identical.