Most people think of "records" as discrete objects, collections of smaller pieces strung together into a whole. But rarely do we think of records as records: documents of specific places, times, people, ideas. Watkins Family Hour accurately falls under both of those definitions. It’s an eponymous album born out of the monthly residency hosted by siblings Sean and Sara Watkins at Los Angeles’ Largo for more than a decade. Now, with this record, those of us outside L.A. can finally get a peek at what they’ve been up to each month.
The Watkins were best known in the early 2000s for their band Nickel Creek, a progressively minded roots trio that took tradition and imbued it with new energy that earned them a Grammy and a large international following. The band’s frontman and mandolin player Chris Thile has gone on to earn more acclaim than his bandmates in the decade since they called it quits (save for a record and reunion tour last year), but the Watkins are no slouches: guitarist Sean remains a tremendously skilled flatpicker, while Sara’s songwriting and fiddling has always been sharp. They’ve both put these chops front and center on the solo records they’ve released over the years.
Watkins Family Hour, an 11-track LP comprised entirely of cover songs, feels like it could’ve been a live recording at any one of the group’s Largo conventions. They begin with Robert Earl Keen’s "Feelin’ Good Again", a mellow celebration of finding unexpected moments of joy. It’s an appropriate opening for a record that feels analogous to a live experience: it’s the obligatory "Hey, welcome everyone, we’re so happy to be here." From there, Watkins Family Hour arcs across toe-tapping numbers—some faster, some slower—before closing with the "fare thee well" reprises in the Grateful Dead’s "Brokedown Palace". All that’s missing is stage banter and some between-song tuning.
While the Watkins siblings lend their name to the marquee, the Watkins Family Hour has always operated under an open-ended definition of "family." Fiona Apple is perhaps the brightest star of the fold on the album, though she never eclipses her cohorts. It’s a pleasant surprise to hear Apple flex her vocal might in a genre outside her usual realm with "Where I Ought to Be", and her execution is immensely satisfying. Where Skeeter Davis leaned more toward self-pity on her original 1961 recording, Apple’s vocals streak the song with anger and hurt, breaking the record’s overall complacent tone. "Hop High", with Sara Watkins taking the vocal lead, injects the back half of the album with more intrigue as a cautious introduction yields to fiery fiddle licks.
Elsewhere, Watkins Family Hour hits a number of country and Americana sweet spots: there’s the plaintive ballad "She Thinks I Still Care", the mournful drinking tune "King of the Twelve Oz. Bottles". And while they also include a Roger Miller song, they made an unexpected choice from his catalog: "Not in Nottingham" is from Disney’s 1973 movie Robin Hood. Greg Leisz’s pedal steel buoys the record throughout—that instrument can help songs soar with a twangy breeziness or damn them to goofy "Hyuck, howdy-y’all!" hell. Similarly, Benmont Tench’s honky-tonk organ and piano contributions are welcome additions to the arrangements.
When bands we like cover songs we love, our best hope to relive those special moments is usually through sideways videos recorded on cell phones and uploaded to YouTube. But with this crystalline collection, Watkins Family Hour offers a more compelling insight.
