Twisted Teens: Blame the Clown

I’m still a little confused how duos work. I hear at least three instruments here: drums, bass and a slide guitar. And, yes, I get that they can mix in multiple instruments in a recording session, but if they just count how many people are playing the instruments, wouldn’t the first Foo Fighters album be a one-man band? These songs don’t sound like Japandroids, for instance. Or even early White Stripes or The Black Keys. Famous duos, all. Though, I suppose they resemble the latter in their kind of 30,000 foot view. Anyhow, I’m not even smart enough to count to two or understand how the English language works, so I have to assume that this duo is more than a duo when recording, because this record definitely sounds like a whole band in its execution.

So, yes, this album is in the vein of aforementioned bluesy garage rock of the past. Granted, I don’t think either of these guys was even born in those bands’ heydays. I’m saying they’re kids. Kids! Even though they’re probably not. See above about my cluelessness, as I assumed that the word “teens” in Twisted Teens meant they were teens. Just like The Get Up Kids are kids. Even though they’re currently pushing 50. Man, I’m not good with language or marketing. Whatever the case, lead singer Caspian Hollywell sounds like he’s been drinking from the Tom Waits fountain of cigarettes and firewater. Though, he manages to make that gravelly strain way more tuneful than Waits’ shambling caterwauling and can clean it up pretty well when he wants to. It’s just not the voice you’d expect from a band with “teen” in their name. That name screams pinched nasal, emo yelp. But, nah, there’s none of that here. It all just kind of works, what with the rough production, the accompanying slide / steel guitar of Razor Ramon Santos and the general old-school vibe that feels like if you left Parquet Courts out in the rain to rust for a couple years.

My music vernacular isn’t strong enough to put this band in any kind of modern context. But its mix of lo-fi country and Jay Reatard quirky DIY garage punk tendencies (without going full punk) make for a very enjoyable and organic listening experience. They don’t fall into any modern country tropes and are obviously more interested in making more pop-forward music than they are assaulting us with sharp elbows and atonal-on-purpose tunes to prove any kind of punk bona fides. And maybe it’s their emergence from the New Orleans scene, but there is something porch-sitting about their music. Not giving into any trends so far as I can tell. Not trying to be “cool.” And though they’ve clearly listening to Robert Johnson, they’re not going full retro and/or swamp blues or anything. It’s somehow both modern and throw-backy at the same time. Which I supposed is a marker of the whole garage thing. But their retro is something that sounds like an amalgam or mash-up of American music whose mix is in itself authentically American and not infected with anything outside of our homegrown genres. Like I said, I don’t have the music history knowledge to back this up with facts, but in its country, blues and rock qualities, it in no way feels infected by modern European influence the way, say, another band that started off garage-y like The Strokes might be. Whatever the case, this album is a fun and breezy listen that gets to the heart of modern indie music that I sure hope inspires others to just do something unique and unencumbered by the trends.