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Review: Summer Twins - Summer Twins

It’s been done approximately six hundred times by now, but there’s always something instantly exciting about a band that kicks off an album with a sweet little guitar line, the iconic “Be My Baby” drum beat, and a swell of harmony vocals. Nearly sixty years after Hal Blaine laid them down the first time, those simple four beats are still a punch in the gut, not to mention an instant clue that the band in question knows what the hell is going on, knows their history, and have put in enough time studying the construction of classic pop music to cough up something great.

Riverside, California’s Summer Twins start their self-titled debut album in just that fashion, and over the course of ten tracks, they come up with a sound that is both nostalgic and timeless. Recorded to glorious analog tape by LA punk legend Don Bolles (The Germs/45 Grave) and John Dust, Summer Twins punches and reverberates where most modern albums snap and crackle, providing a full and rich atmosphere to any ears burnt out on the full-throttle garage rock grind. After that exciting opening, “Got Somebody To Dream About” floats away on layered vocals by guitarist/main songwriter Chelsea Brown and her drumming sister Justine, veering off in so many directions that it takes multiple listens to figure out exactly what’s going on. I’m a sucker for complex vocal harmonies, and Summer Twins has them in spades.

Yeah, the album has plenty of easy-going, daydreamy tracks that resemble Scottish twee-poppers Camera Obscura, but there are a few unexpected detours that elevate Summer Twins to something more lasting and powerful. “I Will Love You” is insanely catchy, rides a funky Motown bassline and drops in some Diana Ross-inspired vocals that sound straight off a well-worn 60s jukebox 45. “Apple Orchard” flirts with mid-90s 4AD alt-rock, and “Pickin’ Daisies” mines hypnotic left-coast psychedelia, including a guitar solo that starts off country-rock before blasting off into tripped-out shredding that suggests Riverside psych legends the Misunderstood. Summer Twins is a stellar debut album that has something for everybody.

Grab a copy from Burger Records.

Summer Twins - Pickin’ Daisies