Chicago band Twin Peaks have created quite the buzz around them thanks to their vintage sound, their involvement in the local DIY scene, and a history with Chance The Rapper. After debut album Sunken helped them attract crowds across America, the anticipation for sophomore effort Wild Onion grew with every cut in the months leading up to it’s August 5th release.
The band’s Rock sound has Psychedelic and Pop tendencies with a penchant for vintage riffs that would keep any Classic Rock enthusiast interested. Wild Onion delivers on all that with plenty of hits and hardly any misses.
The album kicks off with its strongest song “I Found A New Way.” The groove brings to mind the sounds of yesteryear with the band sounding like 60’s Rolling Stones thanks to its infectious guitar riff and Jagger-like vocals. “Strawberry Smoothie” packs some furious and fuzzy guitar riffs into a 2 and a half-minute romp that’s fit for the old Bowery scene. “Mirror of Time” is Psychedelic Pop bliss with a mesmerizing clash of guitars chock-full of “flower power.”
“Sloop Jay D” is subtle nod to the Beach Boys not only in the song’s title, but also thanks to Surf Rock riff that drives it; the lyrics not so much. My favorite song from this whole album has to be “Making Breakfast” thanks to another Stones-y effort with singer-guitarist Clay channeling Jagger and Keef at the same time with glorious results.
This album excellently captures the spirit of early Rock & Roll, with Twin Peaks serving as proud ambassadors of the genre set on the mission of bringing the genre back to the forefront. As the band told us themselves in our interview with them: “Our approach was the same as always — try to write killer tunes, work on them with the boys, lay ‘em down, rock the f*ck out.” As fans of killer tunes ourselves, we couldn’t be more thankful for Wild Onion.
Dopeness Factor
Key Tracks: I Found A New Way, Mirror Of Time, Making Breakfast, Sweet Thing, Telephone, Flavor, Mind Frame
