The Weird Sisters Reach Out in 'I'm With You' [Fresh Track]

In the Critics’ Picks section of this week’s Scene, I make some dumb Macbeth jokes before I get to a piece of advice that I’ll stand by: You want to get to know Nashville outfit The Weird Sisters. The fuzz-kissed psychedelic funk-blues quartet with the curious sense of humor is set to release their self-titled debut album with a show at The High Watt on Friday. 

It’s been a long time coming, as keyboardist/singer/saxophonist Gabrielle Lewis explains in an email to the Cream. There are some recordings on The Weird Sisters that date back to 2017, the year that the group began as a duo. Lewis, a skilled classical musician who founded the Nashville Citizens Orchestra (currently mothballed, though there are plans to reform it as something new), was inspired by improvising with guitarist Izaac Short. As she writes: “I didn't know about jamming and was fascinated by making music without reading it on a page.” Later that year, the pair became a trio with drummer Jeff Brown, and continued to write, perform and record. 

A run of sessions earlier this year, some of which were with engineer Kate Haldrup at West Side studio Welcome to 1979, yielded a nearly complete album. It still felt like something was missing, until the group linked up with singer Caitlyn Crawley. With three weeks of rehearsals and one show as a quartet under their collective belt, they hunkered down for about six weeks to finish The Weird Sisters. Lewis explains that Crawley has also been an inspiration.

“Having Caitlyn in the band has opened up an entirely new creative palette to us,” says Lewis. “Because of her, we now sing in three-part harmony, and truly explore what it is like to make music with not just a singer, but with a fourth member of the band. We are actually excited this record is almost out so we can move on and explore the tons of ideas we have saved as voice memo recordings on our phones. Our next record will be out in the next eight months, and the third one soon after.”

Today, we’re very pleased to premiere “I’m With You,” a cosmic march that touches on self-absorption and how making connections with others can snap you out of it. Below, take a listen to the track, and set yourself an alarm to hear the group on the radio tonight — they'll be on Double X-posure with Leanne Merritt on WXNA from 8-9 p.m. (and you can hear it in the station's archive if you miss out). The release show kicks off at 9 p.m. on Friday, and you can still snag an advance ticket for $10.