Twin Peaks

It’s fair to say Twin Peaks have been prolific over the last decade. Despite only forming in 2010, the Chicago five-piece now has four studio albums under their belt as well as a live-album and even a subscription service that delivered pairs of 7-inch singles directly to your door before itself being released as a compilation album (Sweet ’17 Singles).

With all that material behind them, including last year’s well-received fourth album Lookout Low, it’s intriguing to ask where Twin Peaks are heading next?

The band themselves provided this answer; “At the beginning of 2020 we started working on new material – ever keeping the ball rolling towards the next Twin Peaks album. At the onset of this pandemic, we realized our recording efforts would be waylaid, so we worked to finish the songs closest to completion remotely; vocals done one at a time in the studio or sent from home.”

The outcome? A new EP, Side A, coming up on the July 3rd accompanied by brand new single ‘What’s The Matter’. The track sounds like it would happily fit in sat at the back of the bus at the end of Almost Famous singing joyously along to Tiny Dancer.

Whilst The Elton John connection ends there, it’s conceivable that Billy Crudup and the other members of Stillwater could have been jamming along to What’s The Matter and it wouldn’t feel out of place, largely due to the carefree attitude that radiates from the single.

Better still is that unlike some of the worst 60s inspired tracks of recent years, ‘What’s The Matter’ doesn’t overstay its welcome at a tight three-minutes and 21 seconds. The brevity of the track adds to its charm and gives it an undeniable sunny day in the park drinking beers vibe.

Lyrically, Cadien Lake James doesn’t necessarily over-stretch himself. That being said, “All I want to see is that sparkle in your eye” is a comforting refrain and one that contributes nicely to the song’s light-hearted appeal.

‘What’s The Matter’ is an interesting song to consider given its context. As the world continues to wrap its head around the coronavirus pandemic musicians have been delaying projects left and right. Twin Peaks have instead opted for the ‘get the songs out there’ approach. It’s an admirable effort and one that shows the band’s priority is the music itself, which is not a bad attitude to have.

Twin Peaks

Handwritten statement from Twin Peaks

A handwritten statement from the band reads: “Hello; we here at Twin Peaks Dudes LLC are writing to inform you of our new release, ‘Side A’.

“We run the recording side of our operations out of our very own Studio D at Treehouse Records. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we realized our recording efforts would be waylaid, so we rushed to finish the songs closest to completion remotely; vocals done one at a time at the studio or sent in from home; contributions from OHMME, V.V. Lightbody, Lala Lala and Tom Reeder delivered from their own recording setups.

“10” vinyl to follow this fall – those who preorder get all four songs immediately. Out digitally everywhere else July 3.

“All proceeds from our new ‘Business Tee’ will be donated to Black Lives Matter Chicago, and each month we will rotate which item in our merch store is for benefit and what cause/organisation said items benefit. We ask all of our supporters join us in continuing to educate ourselves, listen, donate, share resources and allow ourselves to learn. POWER TO THE PEOPLE, Twin Peaks.”

The result is a largely enjoyable, carefree track that points positively towards another ramshackle collection of Twin Peaks songs in the form of new EP, Side A, coming next month.

Words by Joe Thompson / Featured image by Athena Merry