BIOGRAPHY
Over a year after Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz of Watchhouse (formerly known as Mandolin Orange) reintroduced themselves on their 2021 self-titled LP, the pair shared a special surprise release: Watchhouse (Duo), a self-produced recording of Marlin and Frantz performing the most elemental possible arrangements of all nine songs from Watchhouse. It’s a project that captures the fundamental power of Watchhouse: Two singers and musicians with profound chemistry, performing earnest yet masterfully crafted songs that encompass the unknowable mysteries, existential heartbreak, and communal joys of modern life.
Starting over a decade ago playing coffee shops and local restaurants around North Carolina, Watchhouse is a grassroots success story that's been driven by Marlin's poignant songwriting. They’ve sold out iconic venues (Red Rocks, Ryman Auditorium) and attract hundreds of millions of streams while producing exploratory music that "redefines roots music for a younger generation" (Washington Post).
2022 was filled with many endeavors including the American Acoustic Tour with Punch Brothers, headlining shows across the US, collaborating with Planet Bluegrass on Mabon, an autumn equinox concert series, and of course Watchhouse (Duo). In 2023, Marlin and Frantz will celebrate the release of Watchhouse (Duo) with a short run of shows that will feature just the two of them, harkening back to their earliest days of performing.
PRESS
New song “Better Way”, co-produced by Josh Kaufman (The National, Bonny Light Horseman), heralds new era for the band
"Under their new guise, their typical pristine acoustic picking collides with hazy, dream-like psychedelia in “Better Way,” which comes to a lovely, droning coda in its final two minutes. Sometimes a little change (or a major one, in this case) is just the thing to recharge the creative batteries.” - Rolling Stone
“The duo leans into the transportive quality in the arrangement, a soothing centerpiece to what may be their best work to-date.” - American Songwriter
“Follows the smoke from outsider artists like Bitchin Bajas, Bing & Ruth and the Grateful Dead...the duo push their trusty stringband paraphernalia into an ethereal plane that extends beyond the traditional reach of their Old Time origins.” - New Commute
Shore Fire Media Announces Mandolin Orange Change Name To Watchhouse
ASSETS
Download promotional assets HERE