Kilmarnock’s not exactly known for its musical prowess. Okay, so that Scottish band might be from there but otherwise it’s more well known for its connections with Robert Burns (you know, the ‘Auld Lang Syne’ poet) and a fairly terrible football team. It comes as a surprise then that Twin Heart, here with the release of their new EP ‘Progress: Decline’, have produced a stunning alternative collection that soars and captivates in five cinematic tracks.
From the echoing drum introduction, through its repeated riffs and pounding bassline, the angelic vocals of Dawn Baxter contrast with Murray Baxter’s growls during ‘Ghosts’. Up next, ‘Young Eyes’ is an epic song by normal standards, pushing five and a half minutes long. Building from something slow-paced and simple to a passionate chorus with layered, harmonious vocals, the song’s lengthy middle section takes on ballad form then crashes in to a melodic but noisy crescendo.
Single ‘Suffocating’ continues the trend, contrasting lighter moments of quieter vocals and gentle guitars with ferocious, determined riffs and complex structures. It has a huge chorus with a catchy hook (“don’t believe a word they say”) and there’s no surprise the band have been compared to the much-loved Marmozets.
Falling suddenly into ‘Progress’, an instrumental 64 seconds acting as a glorified intro to final track ‘Speak To Me’, its franticness leads to a more controlled effort. There’s a Celtic lilt in Baxter’s singing before the heavy intrusion of the instrumentation, but at times it seems a little too polished. The final desperate plea (“I’ll keep fighting ‘til the end”) comes across just a tiny bit forced, but the fuller parts of the song make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
With the sound of a mid-2000s post-hardcore band, Twin Heart navigate the bridge between old school emo passion and gutsy scream influences with precision. While there are moments the excitement falters, ‘Progress: Decline’ needs a listen if you want a female-fronted band with a difference, or you need a quick hit of a screamo sound we don’t often hear anymore.
KATHRYN BLACK