It was hard to know what to expect from Norway's Twin Serpent; the first song felt more like punk rock. This explosion of rowdiness came after they dubbed themselves blackened bluegrass. Then on the second song, it feels more like punk-inlfuenced indie rock. The kind of hobocrust-punk take on bluegrass does not come into the picture until "Stellar Suicide". The dual vocals have a more punk feel, even when given more space for melody, with the female half more willing to relax.
"Freak Flag" feels more like a rambling marriage of folk with punk attitude. "Ain't Home No More" is more nuanced and leans into the blue grass sidde of folk more. Having a pretty solid history of this sort of thing with Amigo the Devil, Bridge City Sinners, and the Dead South, the novelty of it alone is not enough to capture my ear. I appreciate their willingness to blend the varied elements from diametrically opposed genres. "Tussen Takk" casta smokey haze with its more blues-based musing.
They give "Radiophobia" more of a rock kick. While this is different from what we expect coming out of Norway, if these guys were from Texas, this sort of thing would be less surprising. "Fortventninger" is more of what you would expect from this sort of thing, going into the more barroom style of folk. "Holy Ghost" is more melodic and finds the elements they have in play working at the highest level of effectiveness to make this the album's best song.
"Kiou Kivi" is more chanted over a free-form jam. The last is a loose blues-based excursion into country-inflected musings. I appreciate where they are going and the willingness to try new things, as well as the punk energy they bring to them. This album could use a little more focus, they know the sounds they want to use, but all the pieces sometimes get lost in the shuffle, it works mroe often than not as it gets playt off as just being punks fucking around, so I will give this album an 8.5. If you wanna hear moddy punks with banjos, they have ya. Out May 8th on Svart Records.
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