Twigs, from Bergen, Norway, released their second
full-length album, Epicure, March 15 on Endearing
Records. Epicure is packed with poppy melodies, brisk
beats, strong female vocals, and distorted guitars
that can be at once airy and heavy. Although some
songs (like the first and last) are constant in their
sound, be it gentle and spacey or forceful, many
follow a ROCK/not rock/ROCK pattern that combines the
album's musical styles.
Twigs' two guitars are often distorted but sometimes
take on a different feel, like in track two, when they
make a resonant, interweaving melody at the beginning
that repeats throughout. The guitars give the song a
dreamy, light feel. Along with the guitars, the drums
alternate between solid and thin sounds. As track two
goes on, intensity builds, but it doesnt follow the
same pattern as other songs.
Although I usually don't mind this pattern, it can
make the song feel predictable and drawn out, like
track 4. I don't mind that it has a pattern or that it
repeats itself, but there doesn't seem to be much
variety in the sound. And sometimes, like while
listening to track 7, I feel like I'm Beavis &
Butthead--"Uh, when's this gonna ROCK?"--and when
track 11 doesn't rock, I feel slightly disappointed.
All songs are not like this, however, and tracks 4
and 11 have elements that make them good (dramatically
distorted lyrics, soothing repetitive chords, etc.)
despite the song pattern. In track 6, during the
period of not rocking, one of the guitars makes a nice
background texture while the other embellishes it with
single picked notes. The drums are fluid and add the
feeling that the song is going somewhere, and indeed
it is. It reverts back to the intro and gets loud &
distorted again. In track 8, there is a warm strummed
electric guitar. It's so full it seems to take up all
the space in your ears, and when a lighter picked
guitar comes in the background, it's even more
fulfilling. The singer is using her husky, romantic
voice, and the bass is prominent and warm as well. In
this song, the drumming is not overpowering--it has a
pleasant intensity with plenty of space between the
beats.
The singer's voice fits just right with the
ever-changing volume and intensity of this music. She
can roar or be subtle and silky. But even when singing
at her strongest, she keeps a melody (and her melodies
are always catchy). In some songs, like track 11, she
whispers, and in others she speaks (track 4). I didn't
find myself listening to the lyrics closely, since
they can be overwhelmed by other sounds, but I liked
what I heard. In track six, there are mysterious
sounding lyrics about Heaven, sung in a husky voice.
Other songs are about stars and orbits and perfection.
One of my favorite songs on Epicure is track 5, which
sports a nice poppy beat. There are also full
distorted guitars, gently sung lyrics (most of the
time), and an electric xylophone sound bouncing around
above the guitars. The distortion sounds especially
nice, probably because the drums and melody are light,
as is the xylophone, which evens out their
heaviness.
Like many albums, Epicure gets better with each
listen. Thier pop-rock sound is familiar, but it's a
pleasant sort of familiar, and the music is very much
alive with different moods and intensities.
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