Music Review: The Drinkwater Brothers Show Their WonderTwin Powers With New Single THIS TOWN

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, welcome back to Bobby’s CD sandbox where we offer our broken-down breakdowns of new music releases. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

This week’s music entry in the BobbyFiles comes from those double trouble cuties, The Drinkwater Brothers. Twins since birth, the pair made an appearance this past week on the hilarious Ken Jeong’s not-so-hilarious MESS of a talent show called I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE (WTF?). Fortunately for Jeong, this is not a review of his steaming pile of a show, nor of the brother brothers' performance thereon, but of their latest single release. On the “Twinning” episode of  IF YOU COULD SEE WHAT I HEAR IN YOUR VOICE, BUT I CAN’T BECAUSE, APPARENTLY, YOU'RE LIP SYNCHING, last week, John and Matthew got 'round to performing Niall Horan's lovely THIS TOWN, and have followed that up by releasing their own cover. Have a listen…
 

This is an objectively beautiful, sad song, and has been, over the seven years since Horan released it. In this latest rendition, the twins turn the acoustical solo into a beautifully harmonized duet. The warmth that the Drinkwaters’ two voices generate is without comparison, along with being deceptively powerful. They command attention to the story they are telling, and that is the actor in each of them. The boys studied musical theatre on an island called Staten, at the venerable Wagner College, so their work as storytellers is essential to their performances. Their attack on any song is about words and emotion set to music, and their awesome vocals enhance any piece they undertake. Bobby has gone to see them live several times in the last 4-5 years, and they easily trade harmony lines back and forth (both are tenors), anticipating each other throughout. One might throw in a flourish on his own, but everything is perfectly harmonious in their harmonizing and unison singing. They perfectly convey the story of this song of what happens after the loss of love. Has the loved one left? Walked out? Yes, and, so, this is the story of the longing that comes from that loss, and the grief of separation that comes from a break-up. Left to spin out, everything in this space is only ALL about the one who left. The loved one has moved on to someone else, and all the regret has built up over the things left unsaid. The memories we miss will be someone else’s now. Paralysis SUCKS and the love, still burning bright, shines its light on all the things leftover from our life together. 

Horan's haunting Lyrics are simple poetry, and poetry must always be about imagery and emotion: here, Niall captures his subject beautifully. It is all heartfelt words, even if the rhyming scheme is a little weak - rhyming the word you with you and focussing on other words that rhyme with you…You get it, don’t you? That aside, the marriage of these words to that music and these two voices is so very strong. Tied to these words, the music starts with simple strumming guitars, and one would think that’s all they need on this one but, almost imperceptibly, by verse two, in sneaks a few strings both low and high. It’s all mixing in their cool blend of country/pop/folk vocals - we hate this overused term, but their style is a real fusion. Like we said, Niall’s song has been in the stream for 7 years and, yet, because of the Drinkwaters’ richer voices, it all sounds aged in a way that gives it a modern-day John Denver feel (not to make comparisons - but there you have it, me dearlings). Niall’s vocals on the original have his sharper, more youthful sound coming from his teen idol place on the pop charts. John and Matthew’s cover lends an air of maturity and finality in the certain knowledge that it’s time to move on.

If you have read any of Little Bobby’s other commentary on The Drinkwater Brothers, you will know that they don’t seem to be able to put a foot wrong with us, and they still haven’t. This cover revives Horan’s music in an honorable, respectful way and gives it a slightly different hue, without evisceration. We truly enjoyed digging in on THIS TOWN and feel certain you should add this to your acoustical playlists because… 

This one gets 5 Out Of 5 Rainbows - Put this one in your collection/stream today.

Pick THIS TOWN Out Of The Amazon: HERE

Put This In Your Spotifies: HERE

You Can See & Hear Everything About The Drinkwater Brothers On Their Webbysite: HERE

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!