In medieval times it didn't always end in the prettiest of ways, but once again the French are invading, and this time we should be welcoming them with open arms. The dramatic increase in French bands appearing in our virtual pages over the past year can't just be down to luck. No longer is it all about Daft Punk and Air, cities like Paris, Marseille and Lyon have proved to have exciting experimental rock/electro/shoegaze and dreampop scenes. It's Lyon that is home to "krautpop" trio TWINS who've just released (what we think is) their third album/EP, 'Murmurs'. Krautpop is pretty accurate if you wanted a one-word description of these eight tracks, but if you require a little elaboration then read on.
What makes this album of more interest than some is the variation in sounds, and that's despite the fact that they could all come under a similar heading (the same is true of any genre really: Fleetwood Mac are rock, but so are Stereophonics, Metallica and Queen, all quite different). They pile on the noise for the short, fuzzy blast of 'Go Away' and the scuzzy-vocals of 'Like An Animal'. There's some fab shoegaze with electronic leanings on the excellent 'All My Lacks', and it could be said that the only time that 'Murmurs' is particularly sedate is on the opener, 'Bonfire', but this is just the calm before the storm.
As for something you could purely describe as "krautpop", well look no further than 'After Dark', the term could have been coined for it. 'Cars' is also a tidy fit, coming closest to a motorik beat and overlaying it with some vintage synth-pop sounds, and you could possibly also include 'Drowned', an album highlight with a top bassline that touches on kraut, pop, post-punk and shoegaze. Final track 'Fit To My Future' is something of a monster; a nine-minute epic where krautrock and shoegaze collide to create a song that doesn't get boring despite its length. It's not an easy trick to pull off but TWINS manage it, and it wraps up a thoroughly good album.
TWINS' website
Stream or download the album
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