Brothers Osborne – 'Watertown' review: back home by the water
On their fifth album the country duo return to their roots in Maryland – with Cody Johnson and Stephen Wilson Jr. as their first-ever guests on an album.
Photo: TenPoundHammer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Single video: YouTube · BrothersOsborneVEVO · youtube.com
Single: Born and Raised Hell (feat. Cody Johnson)
Brothers John and TJ Osborne released their fifth studio album 'Watertown' on MCA on 23 October. The title nods to their hometown of Deale, Maryland, and longtime collaborator Jay Joyce produced it. The eleven songs deal with family, love, loss and change; for the first time the duo have guests on an album: Cody Johnson on opener 'Born and Raised Hell' and Stephen Wilson Jr. on 'Tough Kid'. TJ Osborne says they are getting back not only to where they were born and raised but to the roots of where they started musically.
Country Universe calls 'Watertown' a tight, sharply focused set about youth and young manhood, praising its strong hooks and the duet with Johnson. The verdict: start to finish, the brothers' best album in a decade. Clash also notes that the duo strip away excess and pair rock-infused songs with the energy of their live shows.
The video is the official music video for 'Born and Raised Hell' with Cody Johnson, shot in Nashville and directed by Nick Swift, from the BrothersOsborneVEVO YouTube channel. The song goes to US country radio as the next single on 2 November.
Sources
- Country Universe – Album Review Roundup: Vol. 2, No. 37 (26.10.2026)
- brothersosborne.com – Brothers Osborne's fifth studio album Watertown out now (23.10.2026)
- MusicRow – Brothers Osborne slate fifth studio album Watertown for October (24.08.2026)
- Clash – Country Heroes Brothers Osborne Share New Album 'Watertown' (26.10.2026)