Twisted Teens Twisted Teens cassette
I’ve long felt that punk music is a folk tradition. At its most essential, it is tied together as a living history that is accessible to everyone regardless of anything other than love for the music. That is exemplified in this stunning full length, which both rocks and rolls but also feels like a lived-in and educated slab of American music that draws from a rich and deep well (or rather several). If it sounds like I’m hyperbolizing I might be, but I think we’ll look back on this one for a while yet as a brilliant confluence of old and new that sings in its own language. Okay, so how does it sound? It has edges of bedroom punk with a tight rhythmic center (using conventional and electronic drumming), with great expressive guitar playing and a gorgeous pedal steel on most tracks. The music is heavily melodic, showcasing the full-throated and gritty baritone of the main songwriter C.P.N. Hollywell whose lyricism is clever, aching and fiery all in turn. Some songs lean heavily acoustic, particularly the excellent and wistful “Tic Tac Toe,” but this is not merely folk-punk as it will then zig-zag back through a kaleidoscope view of other rock traditions, often with riffs steeped in blues and country but also with some non-pentatonic post-punk structures. In a way, it’s hard to pin down the sound here, and that’s largely what makes it feel like such a bold new thing—all while still having its moments of plainly fuzzed-out, crunching geetar bliss. I don’t always get to effuse about an album, and I certainly have here, but this was handily my favorite release of 2024 (it was on my top ten) and demands your attention. Hopefully everyone will catch onto what makes TWISTED TEENS important and special.