What’s a touring band without a record? For the past two years, Twen has been re-defining what a touring band looks like in an age of homogeneous pop crafted for streaming consumption. Born in the Boston DIY scene and then quickly shoving off to Nashville, the psych inspired indie-rock four-piece has not stopped touring since their formation, representing a refreshing antidote in an increasingly digital world. Led by vocalist Jane Fitzsimmons and guitarist Ian Jones, the band have racked up a touring schedule that few groups could muster without the aid of a debut album.
Disregarding music industry order-of-operations, Twen defied the mold through their ‘Twen Live’ cassette release in 2017. Recorded from their first performance (ever) in a Boston basement, the five-song EP is their only recorded music prior to their upcoming release. Awestruck, their debut album (out via Frenchkiss Records), is a time capsule of their music on and off the road, two years in the making. Recorded at different times and locations, each song builds upon the next, starting with the title track, the first song ever written between the two; bookended with Horseblood, the slow burning haunt with a vocal maturity and complexity only harnessed through experience. Often referencing time itself, like the top-heavy rock anthem Long Time, time stretches throughout the record, and leaves you wanting more.Though unabashedly indie rock, their songs genre-bend from shoe-gaze-sized walls of sound to Beatle-esque call-and-response vocal harmonies. While on Baptism, Jones’ delicate finger-picking patterns ring through fuzz and distortion, combining folk roots with in-your-face rock; Fitzsimmons’ voice weaves through guitar lines with Cocteau Twin’s inspired flair, giving breath of ethereal mysticism across the album. In Honey Smacks, the often fragmented and stream-of-consciousness lyrics are intensified by countless infectious melodies that are as timeless as they are simple.
