In this series, we have reviewed a number of duo groups in which the members are related – sometimes spouses, and in some cases their playing together led to marriage. There are sibling groups, and even a few parent-offspring bands. There is a certain quality to vocal harmonies that having a relationship with your musical partner can bring out. But as far as a relationships between players go, you can’t get much closer that twins, and this week we have a new release by a pair of twin brothers who call themselves the Ocelots, and their new second album is called Everything, When Said Slowly.

The Ocelots are Ashley and Brandon Watson from Wexford, Ireland, though they are currently living in Leipzig, Germany. They have obviously been making music together for most of their lives, and that natural collaboration is very much in evidence on their new album. They create a pleasing folky blend that is not without more contemporary elements. The Avett Brothers come to mind, in their sibling sound. Lyrically, their music is also quite astute with occasionally witty wordcraft. Sometimes they wax philosophical, and there are occasional variations on love songs. The duo recorded the bulk of their album over three days in the British Isles, but after the initial tracking, they spent a fair amount of time overdubbing additional parts back in Leipzig, with added harmonica, some flute, banjo and the like. The result is one of those cross-generational albums that could appeal to the geezers who go back to the 1960s folk days, as well to fans of more contemporary groups like the Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, or Belle & Sebastian. The Ocelots’ songs range from mostly solo or duo acoustic to more electric arrangements. Interestingly, despite being twins, vocal harmonies are not really central to their sound. Many of the songs have a single lead vocal with the harmonies being an occasional part of the arrangement.

Opening is one of the more contemplative-sounding songs, Lighthouse with its mostly acoustic texture and rather pastoral lyrics. <<>>

Somewhat more upbeat is a track called About You, a kind of love song, which keeps the direction toward the more electric. <<>>

The duo do sing together for most of the song called Landlords with its philosophical lyrics. <<>>

One of the most interesting tracks, both musically and lyrically, is called Joy Outside which is a kind of reflection on life, set in a rather un-folky 6-beat rhythm. <<>>

The Good of a Bad Year is another set of introspective lyrics, while the tune is based on a piano line. <<>>

One of the highlights of the album is Front Door Key an amusing love song about an uncertain relationship and an incident with a lost key. <<>>

My favorite track on the album is Tunnels which uses tunnels a metaphor and also in the more literal sense in their role in navigation. <<>>

The album ends with Invisible Cities done as a mostly acoustic duo performance with the brotherly vocal harmonies. <<>>

On their new album Everything, When Said Slowly, twin brothers Ashley and Brandon Watson as The Ocelots have created an enjoyable collection of intelligent folk-rock for the 21^st Century. It’s interesting that these Irish Brothers living in Germany would come up with a such a straight out Americana sound, but music knows no geographic boundaries these days. The Ocelots’ music is intelligent, tasteful and has a good deal of honesty, with the production and performances not polished to a gloss.

Our grade for audio quality is about a B-minus for heavy-handed volume compression that undermines the dynamics of the performances and makes even the quieter moments as loud as the stronger ones.

The Ocelots’ new album has a lot of interesting qualities going for it – the fact that the principle players are twins, that they are Irish but living in Germany, and then to create an album that is the epitome of Americana, makes their recording a standout. It’s also an all-around pleasing set of music.

(c) Copyright 2025 George D. Graham. All rights reserved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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