Can I let you in on a secret? I love covers. They're the musical version of fan fiction. A new artist taking up the torch of an old song is, ideally, a kind of love letter -- a tender act that serves to remind or introduce listeners to an obscure song; like with Labyrinth Ear's cover of "This is How We Walk on the Moon". Or, turn the song just so - change it by a few, or many, degrees - to highlight aspects of the composition or lyrics not immediately accessible in the original; like in the cover of the "As Told by Ginger" theme song (I have to disagree with the author of that post -- so this review, in a way, is a cover of that article).
All in all, a cover should be fun -- we should hear the new artist just having a fucking ball. Unfortunately, The Watson Twins' latest release, Night Covers, is too appropriately named -- Chandra and Leigh Watson sound like they were roused in the middle of the night by kidnappers and hauled off to the recording studio to lay down these six sleepy tracks.
The Watson Twins take the same "we're sad women with guitars" tone to every song. It feels like they're going through the motions, and while the first few tracks are technically pretty, the monotony begins to wear on your patience by track four. What's the point in covering such a large range of artists like Sade, the Turtles, and PJ Harvey, if you're going to take the same approach to all these different genres? It seems the purpose of Night Covers is a quickly produced reminder to the world that the Watson Twins are still active musicians.
While the choice of artists to cover seems pretty exciting here -- Bill Withers, Eurythmics, and the Black Keys, in addition to the previously mentioned -- the song choices are poor. Why cover the Turtles' "You Showed Me", when The Lightening Seeds did such a good job of it (Daria, anyone)? PJ Harvey already did the whole listless singing style on the original "Angelene", why do it again, but poorer, on Night Covers? When Annie Lennox sang"Here Comes the Rain Again", she imbued a sense of restrained yearning and sexual desperation throughout the track. Chandra and Leigh just sound like virgins singing about doing something naughty that they couldn't begin to understand. Only on "Ain't No Sunshine" do the duo get close to exuding any sort of personality, but it's such a soulful track, it's hard to imagine anyone screwing it up.
In the end, six tracks is just way too much for a half-assed stunt. Ok, Watson Twins, we get it -- you're still a band. Next time, try getting our attention with some well produced original music; I promise, your fans will appreciate it more.
Track List:
1. You Showed Me
2. Angelene
3. Ain't No Sunshine
4. Here Comes the Rain
5. Sweetest Taboo
6. Tighten Up
