As both identical twins and bandmates, Chandra and Leigh Watson—known professionally as the Watson Twins—are well accustomed to collaboration. “Our mom says we were singing and making noise together before we could really talk,” Chandra says. “We’d get in trouble at the dinner table for singing instead of eating.”
Since then, the Kentucky-raised duo has also harmonized with the likes of Jenny Lewis, Jewel, and Harry Connick Jr., among many others. On their forthcoming album, HOLLER, the sisters found themselves collaborating again but this time with their Nashville-based touring band as well as their friend and Grammy-nominated producer Butch Walker.
In a five-day sprint that Chandra describes as “a summer camp we never wanted to end,” the team recorded HOLLER at the Butcher Shop, Walker’s studio outside of Nashville. “The studio itself is like another member of the band. The space has its own energy,” Leigh says. “Plus, when you’re working with people you know and love and lightning strikes, anything is possible.”
Take the dreamy ballad “Never Be Another You,” which G&G is proud to premiere today with its accompanying video. The song features Walker on guitar and joining in with the sisters on the three-part vocals. “We recorded it just like it looks in the video, with the three of us in formation, singing the vocals live,” Chandra says. “I think that really lets a unique energy and joy come through.”
While HOLLER may be their most collaborative album to date, Leigh and Chandra still value the magic that exists when it’s just the two of them. “Chandra and I used to write everything separately, but since our last album in 2018, we’ve been co-writing all our songs together,” Leigh says. “Being a twin is a gift, and it would be silly not to embrace that. We’ve been given an opportunity to be stronger together, which is kind of what this record is all about.”
Watch the video for “Never Be Another You” below. HOLLER is out June 23 and available to pre-order here. The Watson Twins will be on the road this spring and summer, with stops throughout the South.
