"Twin Drugs bring a fuzzy style of indie rock that grates and gnaws at the formulaic and the conventional, resulting in a shoegazed, psychedelic spiral that corkscrews through dreamy soundscapes and post punk noises"
Boundaries are there to be pushed, right?! Music seems to be going through a growth spurt at the moment with genres exploding and shattering into shards of original and offbeat sub genres. The result of this is bands like Twin Drugs, who bring a fuzzy style of indie rock that grates and gnaws at the formulaic and the conventional, resulting in a shoegazed, psychedelic spiral that corkscrews through dreamy soundscapes and post punk noises. With no pigeonhole to nestle within, the Richmond, Virginia trio have crafted an album that meanders through soothing vocal arrangements and dreamy atmospherics, all the time smothered in a warm distorted veil of noise.
Ten tracks are the order of the day on In Now Less Than Ever, and the opener, Ash Candied Cough (what a fantastic title!) wastes no time in dropping low to the floor, throwing out these heavily distorted, fuzzy guitars and muffled percussions adorned in stark contrast with the celestial and dreamy vocal style that has become a trademark of the band. Its Radiohead drum patterns, and synthesised sorcery bring a delicious indie vibe with it that’s carried on into the following track, We Want Our Heaven. Here, we here some eccentric drum patterns washed over with introverted vocal deliveries. It pulses and palpitates like nothing I have heard in a long time. An immediate favourite?, no, but I’m sure it’s going to be one of those slow burners that will engulf me later rather than sooner!
This brings me on to one of the standout tracks on the album, World Fell Off, and its atmospheric and transient charms that remind me of a man sitting, legs crossed, playing his pungi, as the hypnotised cobra snake charms and dances his way out of his basket, basking in its hallucinogenic state. A real trippy and beautiful track. That psychedelia that’s found soaked within Twin Drugs sound is even more prevalent on tracks like Eyelets And Aglets and The Velvet Noise. Mid-tempo, blurred and erratic at times, these tracks play with your mind and your whole body for that matter. Layers lie on layers as the music fills the headspace, dreamy and wistful.
Rule 110 breaks all the rules (terrible pun alert!) with its ethereal and synth-heavy waves of sound and its 80’s aura, thick in deep dark electronica and haunting, looped passages. Think Mercury Rev, My bloody Valentine with a dream-pop quartet behind them, and you will get some idea of where this shoegazed-sherbet of a track is going.
Sazerac is in complete contrast to Rule 110, with its heavy grungy guitars and more prominent drums. It’s almost gritty and dirty in places, but there’s always that comfort blanket of dream pop to dampen the flames and bring you back on that magic carpet ride.
The Sun While You Can closes the album with its array of eclectic layers and styles, that has been at the forefront of this release right from the outset. In Now Less Than Ever is not just shoegaze, it’s not just Indie or post-punk either, but what it certainly has is a USP that will help it stand out from the rest. Twin Drugs have composed an album that is different to everything else you will hear this year. Yes, it does have all that post music vibes and that shoegazey flourishes, but the thing is , not many bands have made that concoction sound this interesting.