Regional Records

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Twins Andrew and David Williams have an interesting backstory. Hailing from a musical family with roots going back to the mid-1930s (they are nephews of pop crooner Andy Williams), they launched their own musical career in the early 1970s as teen idols. A decade later they re-emerged as mature, skilled vocalists and instrumentalists, working with the likes of Brian Setzer, Joe Ely, the Cruzados, the Plimsouls and as members of T-Bone Burnett’s touring band. This led to them being signed to Warner Bros scoring the 1992 pop hit Can’t Cry Hard Enough and releasing three albums. After leaving Warners in 1994, the brothers went their separate ways, but got together in the studio in 1995 with producer/songwriter Marvin Etzioni to record in a more countrified style. They laid down ten songs ‘live’ in the studio with Marvin playing bass, Greg Leisz (pedal steel), the late Dan Heffington (drums) and the brothers on guitars and vocals. Unable to land a record deal, the recordings lay dormant, until the release of this album, some 27 years later.

Listening to the album’s ten songs is like being there in the room with the duo; it’s pure, it’s unvarnished, and it captures the stunning intimacy and beauty of two voices that wind naturally around each other. Drawing on the throwback blood harmonies of acts like the Everly Brothers, the Louvins and the Glasers, the duo balance a classic country-pop vibe with modern and edgy lyrics to make for a truly enjoyable sound. They have strived to create a simple and monochrome palate that ran through their live staging which was clutter-free with just the duo and their instruments with an added rhythm section and sweet steel embellishments on a lovely batch of originals and well-chosen covers. The music is contagious and rolls easily through the air when working, driving, or just chilling with two fingers of bourbon.

There’s definite echoes of Tompall and the Glaser Brothers in the twins’ rendition of Robbie Fulks’ Tears Only Run One Way. Mixing Greg Leisz’s haunting pedal steel work with the duo’s keening harmonies, it’s all there, the melody that starts low and then soars high and lonesome, the song sees plenty to lament, but also grounds for hope. They turn songs such as Iris DeMent’s Let The Mystery Be, Dave Davies’ Death Of A Clown and Buffy Sainte-Marie Piney Wood Hills into a series of celebratory performances entirely devoid of posturing or pretence. Their renditions mostly hold to the spirit with which they were written, all simple sentiment and heartfelt homage. As a result, they offer an honest intent that reflects the reverence that’s so evident in each of these offerings. That’s clear throughout, as evidenced in the implicit sincerity shown with Mark Etzioni’s heartfelt Unanswered Prayers, the joyful revelry given to Robbie Fulks’ darkly humorous She Took A Lot Of Pills (And Died) and the stoic delivery and counterpoint vocals shared with their own She’s Got That Look In Her Eyes. The two manage to muster up some rousing revelry, even in the midst of their stripped down songs with the title song, as drummer Heffington and steel player Leisz carve out a toe-tapping groove and the boys add finger-snaps and a catchy chorus.

www.regionalrecords.com

November 2022