TWIN SISTER – In Heaven (Part 3)

In Heaven is an album by a band still figuring out what it wants to sound like. Brandon would like to suggest “awesome.” They should go for “awesome.”

Twin Sister – “Gene Ciampi”

Listen to a full album stream here!

From: Brandon Hall
To: Natalie Snoyman

“Twin sisters!” Of course! The sequencing makes so much sense, now!

Honestly, though, I think my sequencing hypothesis doesn’t quite work. You mentioned the last two tracks, “Saturday Sunday” and “Eastern Green,” which I really can’t make a legitimate argument to link them, though I tried. I agree with you for the most part on “Saturday Sunday.” I like the song enough, but i don’t feel like it plays to the band’s strengths. It’s a little too candy coated for my tastes. Similarly, I’m stretching in trying to link “Daniel” and “Stop,” which really don’t sound all that alike.

As for the voices, I really wish it was Andrea Estella all the time. I don’t mind “Eastern Green,” but I wish Andrea were singing instead of Eric. And I really like “Stop” for all the wonderful things it does sonically with its electronic marimba, its disco groove, and the simple, sweet lyrics about being caught up in love and trying to consciously tell yourself to slow down and decide whether or not what you’re feeling is real and worth it: “I keep telling myself to stop / Am I already with you, oh what do we do now?” I love all that. But the two of them singing together turns it into a kind of duet and introduces a level of cheese that didn’t necessarily need to be there. I think “Luna’s Theme” is a different animal. Andrea is prominently in the fore with Eric adding accompanying vocals. Ultimately, I feel like Eric has a fine voice, but Andrea gives the band a unique and evocative identity, not unlike The Constantines whose awesome lead singer, Bryan Webb, shares vocal duties with the nasally, less interesting Steve Lambke. I always hated rocking out to Webb only to get the emo stuffy-nosed voice of Lambke on the next song. Band politics, obviously. Going forward, I hope to hear less of Eric Cardona. No offense, Eric.

For a relatively new band, for a debut album, In Heaven is incredibly promising. I’m not personally a big fan of the songs, “Spain” and “Gene Ciampi” but I actually think they’re indicative of what we should expect from Twin Sister in the future. Not the sound or style, necessarily, but the fact that this is a band that isn’t afraid to try new things, to go in different directions and do a little experimenting. I like, especially, the lyrics of “Spain:” “It’s hard to choose the life you want…and decide which life is right for us.” That may be a thesis statement for the album. It’s the work of a band still playing around with genres and sounds, still exploring and having fun. The joy of a new band is that they have yet to lock themselves into a box. I no more expect them to continue the spaghetti-western style than I do the nu-wave disco. I think they’re still searching for the sound that fits them best, and I, for one, can’t wait to find out what it is.

“If you like Gene Ciampi, you will love his movies!”
Brandon