Have you ever wanted to chill with the the soundtrack to Hell’s homecoming dances? Give Twin Temple and their signature sound of Satanic Doo-Wop a spin!
Fun fact about yours truly: I adore the aesthetics and music of the 1950s.
I’d never go back there, of course, but I’d love to go waltzing at some neo-sock hop someday in a swing dress. There’s still crooners out there, like Adele and Amy Winehouse (may she rest in peace). But the thing is, as amazing as they are, their music doesn’t have that spooky edge some of y’all might crave. So, what’s a girl to play when she’s done with the drive-in and wants to go on a walk with her beau through the graveyard?
That’s where Twin Temple and their first record, “Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound…Satanic Doo-Wop)”, come in — filling a niche I never knew I wanted filled.
Alexandra and Zachary James, the duo behind the band, formed the band on a witch’s sabbath (Halloween) after gleefully destroying all their previous selves. They embrace a jazzier side of darkness, waving away the idea that Satan should only come up in heavy metal. To them, ol’ Lucifer’s more than just clawing guitars and throat-shredding vocals.
Twin Temple’s songs are more dreamy than that, crowned by Alexandra’s smoky tones and draped in gorgeous horns and swaying strings. They’re like if Timber Timbre got a little spookier and a lot more peppy… and I adore it!
The band’s backbone is an embrace of free will and love of one’s self and those around them.
This comes through with gorgeous harmony in their songs. “Femme Fatale” and “I’m Wicked” are celebrations of women’s power and self-adoration, while “Let’s Hang Together” is a grim and gorgeous tribute to love and marriage (perhaps to the James’ own marriage).
They seem like tracks you’d dance to on a long walk down Bourbon Streets or the roads of Salem, Mass. “Femme Fatale” is particularly bombastic.
The genre name “Satanic Doo-Wop” is quite apt.
The great snake is always there, hanging over every track, and makes a particularly strong showing in the tune “Lucifer, My Love”. Where most bands use Satan for show and for scares, Twin Temple is the real deal. Worshipping Satan makes them happy, and that shows in tunes like “Sex Magick” (which has a NSFW video) and “The Devil Didn’t Make Me Do It”, which brim with joy and swing like nobody’s business.
Twin Temple is a relatively new act, and I’m excited to see what they have coming down the pipe! The band swings for the fences and hits home runs down the board.
If you want to do the twist to something a little more smoky and unique than the vintage schitck, then pour yourself a malted and put this on the record player. You won’t be disappointed.
Favorite Track: “Let’s Hang Together”
Least Favorite Track: “In Nox” and “In Lux”. They’re both still good tracks, but I just don’t like most instrumentals.
Rating: 4.6/5
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