Vol II

Twenty years ago, inspired by a series of concerts at the Largo club in Los Angeles where a mad-scientist-in-the-laboratory vibe encouraged experimentation among a group of musicians who bonded like kin, siblings Sara (fiddle, vocals) and Sean (guitar, vocals) Watkins of Nickel Creek fame formed Watkins Family Hour. Many of those musicians including Fiona Apple and Jackson Browne are featured on Vol II, the Family Hour’s third full-length release, which stands out partly for the inclusion of a number of brilliantly re-imagined covers.

Accompanied by Griffin Goldsmith (drums) and Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Sara and Sean’s take on the Tune-Yards’ ‘Hypnotized’ brings harmonic coherence and lyrical sharpness to an already endearingly quirky indie-pop song. Off in a completely different direction, the Watkins siblings, joined by Gabe Wichter (fiddle, mandolin, vocals) and Willie Watson (guitar, banjo, vocals), infuse the McReynolds siblings’ (better known as Jim and Jesse) bluegrass classic, ‘She Left Me Standing on the Mountain’, with fresh energy and heartfelt charm. Apple belts out a blazing honky-tonk version of ‘(Remember Me) I’m the One Who Loves You’, which was a Top 40 hit for Dean Martin in 1965. Here’s to another two decades of eclectic research by Watkins Family Hour.