Album Review: Twin Temple - Bring You Their Signature Sound... Satanic Doo-Wop

Over the course of a year, I listen to what I feel is a lot of music. In that exploration, I find plenty of great music, and plenty of terrible music, but most of it all fits into neat little boxes. The genres we have created are rather tight, and with so many years of being influenced by exactly the same kind of music being made now, it all starts to get a bit derivative. That doesn't stop that great stuff from being great, but finding something truly unique is a rarity. So when something does come along that is completely out of left field, that I can honestly say I've never heard before, that deserves a bit of attention. That's where we are today.

Twin Temples have the distinction of being the first group I have ever encountered who are mixing 50s doo-woo and rock n' roll with outright satanism. No, you didn't read that wrong. They really are combining the origins of rock with the origins of evil.

We kick things off with "The Devil (Didn't Make Me Do It)", which opens with a shuffling rhythm, saxophone hits, and a guitar line that is as reminiscent of The Munsters as Chuck Berry. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be taking things deadly serious or not, but I have a hard time not cracking a smile and chuckling when the backing vocals in the chorus start crooning "Beelzebub". It's charming stuff, even if it isn't meant to be. That's the main feeling I get from the record, one of warm nostalgia for a bygone sound. The record does a remarkable job of sounding like a lost 50s album, from the songwriting notes to the slight distortion washing over the sound.

On a song like "I'm Wicked", the duo takes on the guise of a film noir jazz club, with a sultry number that builds some dark drama. It's the sort of thing I could easily imagine playing in the background of a montage in a period film about a serial killer. It's remarkably effective at capturing that mood, even if the multiple key changes in the last minute might be one too many. Being a bit over the top is fitting, anyway.

This record is challenging in the sense that it's a sound we don't hear anymore, so few people will go into it already a fan of what Twin Temple is doing. You need to have an open mind to appreciate this twisted throwback, but if you give it a chance, I think you'll find there is something delightful about their dark offering, for the most part. Through the bulk of the album, we get some rather intriguing sounds. The two segue pieces aren't necessary, but they also don't really get in the way. The first ten tracks of the record are easy to enjoy.

But then the record spoils a lot of that good will by ending with a nearly seven minute recitation of a satanic 'initiation'. It's much talking and organ chords, and not a song at all. Including it here might reaffirm their commitment to their beliefs, but it doesn't do a thing for the record. Putting non music on an album is always a terrible idea, and it is here as well. Thankfully, it's the last track, so it's easier to ignore, but for the purposes of reviewing the album I can't pretend it doesn't exist.

In the end, what Twin Temple has given us is temptation. They have created a sound, and a record, that slithers alongside and points us in the direction of darkness. Until the end, it's not hard to see how one would be swayed to the dark side.