Watkins Family Hour is an acclaimed musical collective featuring Grammy Award-winning siblings Sara and Sean Watkins who are releasing their first album in five years, the aptly titled Brother Sister. The siblings wrote together with the Family Hour in mind for the first time, retaining their unique familial creative partnership while still harnessing the energy and honesty of their legendary live performances at Los Angeles’ Largo—the collective’s residency now in its 18th year.
Produced by Mike Viola (Jenny Lewis, Mandy Moore, J.S. Ondara), Brother Sister features seven original songs co-written by Sara and Sean as well as three new covers: Courtney Hartman and Taylor Ashton’s “Neighborhood Name,” Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally Like A Martyr” and Charley Jordan’s “Keep It Clean,” which features special guest vocalists David Garza, Gaby Moreno and John C. Reilly. Mixer-engineer Clay Blair came aboard to harness the energy and honesty of their live sound.
Brother Sister feels bigger than just the siblings, but it is essentially a gentle folk record with lovely instrumentation and gorgeous harmonies. With Sean primarily on guitar and Sara on fiddle, and both sharing vocals, the sound comes across at times like a full band but it’s usually just the two of them making stirring music. Listen to Sara’s fiddle on “Miles of Desert Sand” and the instrumental dialogue on “Bella and Ivan,” as just two examples. Sean (who is four years older than Sara) adds, “Because of the limited amount of time we had collectively to spend in the studio, there was a general sense of urgency, which I think the three of us (Sara, Mike and I) kinda strive for on these days. We didn’t have that much time and that made it fun and exciting. It was just us, in one room, facing each other with some really great mics, often playing and singing at the same time, trying to capture what Sara and I do in a real way.”
They took early versions of the new songs to Viola, who instinctively rearranged some of the song structures to draw attention to interesting lyrics or surprising arrangements. They begin with “The Cure,” which Sean was inspired to write after watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. The concept of throwing things away is evident in the lyrics; there’s also a sense of knowing that you’re in an unhealthy relationship, but still choosing to avoid fixing it.
Sara chose the beautiful “Neighborhood Name” after hearing it on a record by Courtney Hartman and Taylor Ashton, while “Just Another Reason” is an original that Sean describes as having “a vague, nebulous vibe” lingering below the surface. In contrast, the instrumental “Snow Tunnel” is like an epiphany, titled after Sean’s memory of driving through Zion National Park, emerging from the darkness of a long tunnel into a peaceful panorama of snow.
Their musical chemistry shines on songs like “Lafayette,” an ode to Hollywood as well as the hometowns left behind by its aspiring stars; “Fake Badge, Real Gun,” about confronting authority figures as well as your own beliefs; “Miles of Desert Sand,” whose haunting coda underscores the vivid imagery of immigration; and “Bella and Ivan,” a playful instrumental named for a friend’s two dogs who love to wrestle.
Two choice covers complete the album. Warren Zevon’s poignant “Accidentally Like a Martyr,” which they unearthed for a tribute show, conveys all the complicated facets of love, and “Keep It Clean,” the rabble-rousing Charley Jordan gem from the ‘30s, serves as a grand finale, with David Garza, Gaby Moreno, and John C. Reilly all chiming in on vocals.
“It felt really good to dig into the potential of two people,” Sara says. “There are a few songs on the record where Matt Chamberlain comes in to play drums, and we filled in the low end in a few cases with Mike Viola playing MOOG or piano, but the primary goal of this record became to see what we could do when it is just the two of us. The arrangements and the writing were all focused on that. Listening now, I’m really proud of what we did. These are songs that would not have come out of either one of us individually, or it feels like a band sound, like this is what we do, the two of us.”
It is truly a gift for two siblings to make magical music like this but, of course, it’s not surprising given their success in Nickel Creek and other bands. Yet, music distilled to just the two of them reveals an especially warm sound.
