This week is a shorty but a goodie. Some of you are probably thanking the gods for that considering I have the tendency to get a little long winded, but even I couldn’t drone on all that long about this week’s group. This band is just so damned new that there isn’t a whole lot of info out there.
But that’s a good thing. That means I’m getting you guys in on the ground floor. That way when they blow up, you can tell the “other fans” that you were into them way back in the day when all they had was an EP. You were into them before all the drugs. That’s assuming the band takes a dark turn and dives into drugs, but I think with any band that’s a pretty safe bet.
Actually…scratch that, I’m not sure a lovely singer-song writer lady like Gabi Christine (vocalist for We Are Twin) has it in her to go down that road. Same goes for the duo’s producer/ musician extraordinaire Nicolas Balachandran. He’s too driven. Now, I say all this without ever having met these people. For all I know they’ve already developed a taste for the black tar heroin.
Enough on that. Lets dive in. This week’s ARTIST OF THE WEEK: We Are Twin.
Here is The Way We Touch off of their self-title debut EP.
To me they sound like if Lana Del Rey snagged Raphael Saadiq’s backing band and they just went to town. It has a dusting of Amy Winehouse, but the overall sound is much more upbeat. It’s retro but never feels as if they are ripping off the artists that came before. Retro yet fresh I guess is what I’m trying to say.
The band is pop through and through but never has enough fluff to push them over that “sugary sweet” point of no return. This is a good thing because once you cross that line as a band, I generally tune out. I like a little edge. But I also like something I can dance to. This one, True Love, is a slower track but it’s got some old school Stevie Nix going on.
We Are Twin got together at a songwriting session in NYC way, way, back in 2009. Nicolas and Gabi hit it off early, penning an albums worth of material in that first meet up. Since then it’s been….I actually don’t know how it’s been. That’s sort of where the story ends, the bio-line of drops off. They haven’t done any real interviews that I can track down. Every article I’ve read just says, “Look out for their EP out August 20th”. So it’s out now, and their interaction with the press has been minimal.
The one thing that I did find was two episodes of a web series they did in promotion of this EP. It’s…. well just watch it.
I’m never a fan of music videos really. This is one of the best examples of why. The music can be great, but get over shadowed by douche imagery.
Ya just look preachy guys. I get it. Gabi is smoking hot; a stone cold fox. But the rest of the stuff, the slow motion, and the Wes Anderson font…reel it back a bit. Stick to making fun tunes. Stick with that. You’re really, really good at that. Just listen to Keep On Lovin’ You. Gabi can belt it out with the best of them and with Nicolas making “soundscapes” as they call it, it’s a lot of fun.
Check these guys out. I can see them heating up pretty soon. They have the right vibe and the right sound for this time and place. Mark my words.
If you are in the LA this Wednesday they are playing a set over at Molly Malone’s on Fairfax and Wilshire. Should be a great time. I’ll be there. Hopefully you are too.
Big Hugs,
Kelly
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