For those of you blissfully unaware, Slim Twig is a Toronto born multi-instrumentalist who, to quote the press release I am staring at in front of me has “in his 26 years created more than most will – starring in films as a child, producing records for U.S. Girls,scoring two movies and releasing a series of underground records through Canada’s Paper Bag Records“. That’s the premise then, but what of the plot?
Initially graceful and understated, the filthy fuzz of ‘Slippin’ Sliding’ soon shatters the tranquility of the quirky Canadian’s fifth album. It’s like a fucked up version of T.Rex‘s ‘Buick Mackane’ and it goes right for the jugular. You could never level the term “commercial” at Slim Twig, despite the fact that most of the cuts here are tuneful and infectious.
The influences hit you thick and fast, though Bolan is clearly revered, and as a result, each song is like your record collection of yesteryear flashing wantonly between your ears until Twig decides to unceremoniously use your vinyl as plates at his own Greek wedding. So it is that ‘A Woman’s Touch (It’s No Coincidence)’ begins with the whispered mantra of (I think) ‘They don’t wanna’ repeated ad-nauseum and then transcends into a grubby little noir that sits somewhere between Devo, Depeche Mode and Zodiac Mindwarp.
‘Textiles On Mainstreet’ comes on like Pink Floyd experimenting with grunge, whereas ‘You Got Me Going’ is what Ladysmith Black Mambazo would have sounded like on ‘Homeless‘ if Paul Simon had sneakily injected them with heroin while their backs were turned. You get the picture – this guy’s way out there on his own. The results are simply intoxicating – as mad and unsettling as someone who has kept three months worth of pubic hair trimmings and fashioned them into a doll’s house.
‘Live In, Live On Your Era’ is an unashamedly Stones-like romp, whereas ‘Fadeout Killer’ re-invents the shiny pop clatter of Mud or Mungo Jerry as hedonistic whimsy. This is truly cerebral music, wonderfully abrasive yet compulsively addictive, and a great way to confuse the hell out of your neighbour’s dog.
Whether you’re looking for something fresh and exciting, abstract and challenging, or just want some bawdy rock ‘n’ roll, you need look no further. You might just have found your saviour.
[Rating:4]
