Twin Guns - Scene Of The Crime mp3

SCENE OF THE CRIME - Twin Guns are Dealing Western Devils Out of Brooklyn By Fritzburgh (pittsburghmusicmagazine.net)

"The double-edged sword of contemporary, ubiquitous music releases on the Internet is that bands like Twin Guns are out there and you haven’t heard them yet. While a reviewer might use this line for many albums by bands recently discovered, “Scene Of The Crime” by Twin Guns, released in March 2011, is the one that inspired it. Twin Guns are extremely generous with the devil’s chord in the opening tracks of Scene Of The Crime, taking on a rockabilly-Black Sabbath tone that is almost too easy to get into… like a contract with the son-of-the-morning himself. Twangy guitar and corrugated sheet-metal roof thumping drums are continuous through the dusty tracks that Andrea Sicco and “Jungle” Jim Chandler laydown on their range, making spurs jingle-jangle through a backdrop of urban chaos that evokes a backroom punk show at Gooski’s (for Pittsburghers who know that effect from experience). Vocals come through big, like old-timey tunes… listen for wailing and lamentation, as well as coyote calls. At first it is a bit off-putting, as the instrumentals are so pounding and jarring the ear looks for a clean line in the lyrics. However, by not finding a clearer tonic from the sound engineering of the voices the sound of Twin Guns has a consistency of grit and tormented musical structure that is satisfyingly unsettled (perhaps extending the theme of buttering up the listener for an unholy commitment to a deal with the devil). It also goes a long way toward selling the lonesome cowboy emotion that seems to drive the wagon onward. This trend comes to an apex, in well managed order, with track 4, “Safe,” when pedal effects on both vocals and guitars take you over a canyon cliff somewhere out in the unpopulated vastness of the west Rocky Mountains. Instrumentally the album doesn’t stop inventing. For example, use of essential piano tones, coming over where the mind’s ear envisions rhythm guitar laying on top of the lead. Confessing a slight aversion to the overdrive effects of synthesizer and soundboard background sounds through the first four tracks, it all comes together for resolution in track 5, “Druggy and Suicidal,” which is every bit the homage to rock n’ roll stars burning out like meteors that the title suggests. This is immediately justified by track 6 (“One More Night Of Sin”) opening with a church bell beat that sets up a lead guitar packed with glissando & crescendo. Listen for super-subtle alt-surf guitar and arching vocal deliveries on what balances out as a mellower song compared to the first half of the album. This mellowness seems to groove-on into the remainder of the album… for moments, but then the moments are gone. The whammy bar gets just ridiculous, in the best of ways, on the latter tracks. What’s more, there is a surprising operatic coolness to track 8 (“She Cried”), where a neo-Quadrophenia sound of the ocean waves opening and another lonesome, wild-west yodel ride out on another set of silky and surfy guitar waves. Some spoken word aspects accent the song with a sort of hipster-Meatloaf result that does more to make the listener replay the track than to cast doubt on the, at this point of the album “signature,” sound qualities that it has just condensed through the cochlea. The album might be best for the big finish of the final track. Using a recording of a subway car taking off, and singing about the same, it seals the listener’s fate with a guilty pleasure-inducing familiarity that forces the question… is that a Kink’s song? …the Clash? …funky early, Peter Gabriel-era Genesis? …nope, it’s Twin Guns."

TWIN GUNS – ‘SCENE OF THE CRIME’ by Zack Hillman (http://socalmusictoday.com/)
"Taking a brown bag bourbon approach to the garage/surf rock revival, Twin Guns deliver dirge gems galore on Scene of the Crime. Though they borrow and touch on everything rock’n’roll (you can catch everything from Oasis to My Bloody Valentine to Iggy and the Stooges all on the same track), they take a refreshing approach to their influences. Lyrically, they take a cue from the Ramones by filtering 60’s girl group clichés through a distorted, dark lens. Though these components may sound familiar enough, they ultimately form the marble out of which Twin Guns sculpt a flawless monument to rock’s past and present.

The sixties garage vibe is completely unshakeable throughout, though this is endearing. And it would be easy enough to write another review praising another band for sounding like the Animals or the Kinks. Fortunately for me (and you), Twin Guns dig a little deeper than that: “Little Subway Rider” is the first song in years to earn a comparison to “Hey There, Little Red Riding Hood.” With its echoing riffs and howling vocals bouncing around the jungle drums, the song projects a lost-in-the-woods-at-night vibe. Many modern bands have attempted such a feat, but fail to capture that true 60’s essence because they are too self-conscious to really let it all hang out—they’re sneering instead of screaming, posturing instead of prophesying. Twin Guns instead find an unabashed wealth spring, delivering rave up after rave up.

The band also demonstrates a variety of avenues from which they approach their grimy and gritty sound. “Scene of the Crime” sounds like the schizophrenic cousin of “Misty Mountain Hop,” with the main riff dementedly warbled instead of methodically hammered. The song also features banshee vocals, giving it a feel borrowed from pre-goth bands like Joy Division and Depeche Mode. Oh, and all the guitars are played by Dick Dale. No, just kidding… that’s Andrea Sicco: although he does show technique, skill, and range like Dick Dale. Anyway, the song is another stellar example of how good this band is at combining and reinventing old sounds.

Unlike recent albums by other independent bands, Scene of the Crime actually gets better as it goes, each song finding new and interesting little grooves of their style in which to strut around. “Safe” keeps the surf rock feel, but now it’s contemptuous, riding waves of mutilation. If you can imagine the Ventures meets the house band in hell, you’d be on the right path. They also manage to throw in some frothy feedback toward the end, forming a killer wipe out.

“Druggy and Suicidal” is next, and easily one of the standouts with its climbing and angelic chorus. Without warning, the beautiful verse/chorus structure gives way to dissonant modulations and electronic oscillations. The whole thing comes to a head, building a gloriously noisy thrashing freak out. The end result sounds like 50’s sci-fi film score meets surf punk. When the end result is this beautiful and threatening at the same time, you can call it whatever you want: IT KICKS ASS!

“One More Night of Sin” shows the space that their arrangements can conjure—even with Jungle Jim’s (ex-Cramps) pummeling cathedral-reverb drums against church bells, Sicco still has room for some three or four echoing guitar parts. Then his vocals strike a bizarre and sublime middle ground between Iggy Pop and Keith Relf on “End of the Ride.” Again, Jungle Jim’s drums show restraint, precision, and killer instinct, holding together a steady beat while the guitars feedback like hell over the top.

In true album-rock fashion, Twin Guns save the best song for last: the Crystals meet the Velvet Underground in the bittersweet pop of “She Cried.” Of course, this equation can trace its roots back to the Jesus and Mary Chain. (This song even implements the same “Leader of the Pack” beat that the JMC ripped-off for “Just Like Honey”—Hey, it’s all relative.) But, as stated above, Twin Guns score serious points for diving in head first, with Sicco actually singing more like Ronnie Spector than Lou Reed. Acoustic guitars weave their way in and out of the track, showing that the band is just as smart as they are noisy. The acoustics gently push the track, even as the vocals stretch past Sicco’s comfortable range. Instead of sounding amateur, the vocals play into the unrestrained, juvenile love song appeal of the track. In short, they encapsulate the frustration, joy, and hatred that result from the loss of a first love… and very few bands in New York would take off their sunglasses long enough to cover such material.

Then again, Twin Guns may be that rare gem: the great band that comes out of an already established scene to make their own mark (at least in an underground sense). They’re certainly talented and different enough, yet also familiar enough to connoisseurs of similar sounds that they should attract fans by the droves. Scene of the Crime manages to sound cool and gutsy at the same time, instead of favoring one over the other. Twin Guns seem to have mastered this equation and can only stand to improve as their reputation grows with their talent."