NORTH TWIN Stronger at the Broken Places (Self-released)

North Twin’s incendiary live sets effectively redefine Northwest roots rock as hill country heavy metal. Equal measures rapture and resurrection resonate. “North Twin shows are a blast,” Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready recently told Relix. “Watch out for windmills and flying Telecasters if you’re in the front row!” Stronger at the Broken Places – a vibrant collection tracing threadbare romantics from Waits to Whiskeytown – bottles that dynamite. 9 CThe rain was falling like it was late for the storm,” songwriter Tony Fulgham sings on the chugging centerpiece “Roll On.” “I’ve got amnesia like a blackout drunk at dawn.” Exponentially thunderous fistfuls of rise and regret strike throughout. Now, pay attention, Americana enthusiasts: Gram Parsons’ Cosmic American patchwork rarely stitches together this seamlessly. North Twin elegantly weaves Sticky Fingers rock (“Clear As Day”) and country soul (“Hope It Goes Away”) through radio-ready pop (“Fool,” “Wreck”) and whiskey blues (“Loaded”) on this exciting discovery.

– Brian T. Atkinson