CD Review

R.U.Twin - Why Do You Spit When You Say Rolf Harris? EP
Words By Twelve Tickets

Further proof that the younger generation of musicians do occasionally have the foresight not to paint themselves into a corner with the fads of the times.

This four track EP definitely bears the imprint of current trends, with hints of emo creeping around the edges of the vocal lines, but the songs are refreshingly breezy and you can hear the sound of a band already breaking free of something so restrictive as a genre.

The first sound you hear is a jaunty honky-tonk piano on opening track 'The Nameless One' which - when these against-the-grain choices of arrangement, which crop up consistently throughout the CD, that demonstrate a band not afraid of taking risks where others would stick to a more conventional instrumentation. In fact, for a band working within the confines of a pop/rock song formula, it's pleasingly weird that it's not 'til track three that there's even any distorted guitar (which starts as a kind of electro-groove number before heavying up anyway). These distinctive flourishes work well and weave a sense of adventure into the music that keeps you interested from the start.

Highlight of the set is the rocky 'We Is 'I'', which blends galloping drums and frantic acoustic guitar with a wave synth lead line and no bass. Again, any other group would have smothered this tune with crunching guitars to dramatise the strong vocal line. R.U.Twin's simple arrangement lends the whole thing an organic urgency and leaves the incredibly catchy double-voiced chorus with essential room to move.

The CD ends theatrically with a massive gang-vocal reprise of 'The Nameless One' which brings out the sing-alongability of the chorus and which-either accidentally or by design-leaves you wanting to play the whole damn thing again.

If this is R.U.Twin's debut, then it is a remarkable one, but even if it's not, it shows a band well on their way to making something fresh from their influences, and places them towards the front of the current and increasing crop of younger groups who are cannily ignoring the outdated concept of sticking to identifiable labels.

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