February 28th sees the release of “Saturn Return”, the fourth full length album from The Secret Sisters, siblings Laura and Lydia Rogers who originally hail from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Released on New West Records and produced by Brandi Carlile and her frequent collaborators “the twins” Tim and Phil Hanseroth (the same team responsible for the duo’s 2017 Grammy nominated album “You Don’t Own Me Anymore” ) it was recorded at Brandi’s home studio in Washington state, all ten tracks written by the sisters. While their trademark harmonies still feature strongly (I have had the pleasure of witnessing them live, something I highly recommend you doing if you get the chance!) this album features them singing individually for the first time, something Brandi challenged them to do. Commenting on the experience she said that “It’s really uniquely unified and harmonious when they’re in tandem and very tumultuous and deep when they’re not in tandem….to be a harbinger for their honesty in these songs and to watch them work together to see the tension was one of the greatest gifts of my career because these are two very powerful people in a very interesting point in their lives” .
These remarks refer at least in part to the fact that while making this record Laura and Lydia both experienced extreme change and transformation, having to cope with the grief of losing both grandmothers while also both becoming first-time mothers. The resulting songs see the sisters reflect on their world view, relationships and their own mortality. Two of the tracks, “Cabin” and “Hold You Dear” were made available last year and last Friday saw the release of “Hand Over my Heart”, a stunning song in which they tell of the challenges of finally learning to trust someone again after experiencing an abusive relationship
The album is available to pre-order here https://geni.us/tsssr and the duo have announced a string of UK tour dates later this year, including Black Deer Festival, but before those you have the chance to catch them later this month at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections and London’s AmericanaFest.
More information can be found at www.secretsistersband.com
Article written by Lesley Hastings (twitter.com/lesleyhastings)
