If you’re wondering why we ran a haunting hallway photo here instead of, say, Twine themselves, the choice has nothing to do with the duo’s camera shyness. It’s just that nothing quite evokes the lingering music of Greg Malcolm and Chad Mossholder quite like sepia tones, peeled paint and melancholic mood lighting. Hence their MySpace-provided shot.
To put things into perspective, Twine’s last LP (their self-titled Ghostly debut and second full-length) was one of those records we put on and simply couldn’t walk away from, no matter how disturbing it sounded. And it was mighty disturbing, from the muffled, Mulholland Drive-channeling cries of “Girl Song” to “Plectrum”‘s disembodied vocals and steady downward spiral into madness.
Violets is a little more accessible … relatively speaking. And by that, we mean the tracks are trance-inducing this time; not just fascinating studies in cross-country production techniques (Malcolm is from Baltimore, Mossholder is from Boulder) and the human condition. Although the latter pops up throughout Violet, as an interlude unfolds like a beyond-the-grave ballad (“From Memory”) and Buchephalus Bouncing Balls battle with speaker-panning chords and a spooky phone conversation (“In Through the Devices”).
Listening from start to end, it’s hard to tell if we’re tapped into someone’s waking dream or our own personal nightmare. Whatever the case, you’ll probably be looking over your shoulder a lot after hearing this, easily one of the most emotionally-tortured electronic LPs of the year.
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