Toronto’s Twist have announced their sophomore LP, ‘Distancing’ (out December 7th via Buzz Records) plus they’ve released the album’s first single Venus. The follow up to her 2016 debut ‘Spectral,’ and the ‘Benefits’ EP from last year, sees Laura Hermiston continue her partnership with producer Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck, while bringing her touring bandmates, including members of Zeus, Biblical and Michael Rault’s backing band, into the studio for the first time.
Her first album, a collection of primarily bedroom recordings made with Borcherdt over the period of two years, marked Hermiston out as a promising songwriting voice, and seeing her tour across North America, before releasing ‘Benefits’. With ‘Distancing”s first single Hermiston provides a preview of what is her most focused release to date, delivering a track that typifies the album’s adventurously produced, melancholy guitar pop with its saturated drum sounds and warped backing vocals underpinned by Hermiston’s rare sense of melody. Check out Twist’s Venus video via YouTube below.
| When she began the writing of a sophomore album, Hermiston took stock of her shifting surroundings in a life that exists in a constant state of flux. Examining her experiences with bad habits, unhealthy relationships, and the pervasive sexism of authority figures, she channelled these desires for distance from negative forces into a thematically cohesive collection of songs. The 10 tracks of ‘Distancing’ took shape in a series of sessions at Toronto’s Palace and Union Sound studios before their final mixing by Michael Butler (Beta Frontiers). From the squelching synths of Places to the bouncing beats of Venus, the album’s melancholy musings are juxtaposed with sonic flourishes showcasing Twist at their most playful and assured. While wistful jangle-pop remains at the forefront, the post-punk groove of Waves imagines a hybrid of ESG and The Happy Mondays, and the electronic handclaps of Distancing bring The Flying Lizards’rigid propulsion on a laid back country road cruise. This genre blurring culminates in closer Blowin’, with burbling keys and cosmic slide guitars drifting back into a happy place they left behind long ago. Inspired by the imagery of tarot cards, the song titles Distancing contrast the celestial power of Venus against shifting Tides and the shaky foundations of a Tower. With the dawning epiphany that anything or anyone can be struck down with a single lightning bolt, Hermiston shares the wisdom that every outcome is caused by our own actions. From falling in love with the wrong person at the wrong time to self-sabotaging functional relationships and encountering predatory men in positions of power, she aims to spread a message of attaining positivity when life brings you down its darkest roads. Instead of shrinking into the shadows, she lets her voice ring out. “I don’t think this record is making any big statements on the complex world we’re living in right now,” Hermiston says. “I write about my experiences with sexism and people who act entitled to take advantage of you because that’s what I feel like I can comment on honestly. In the past I’ve felt like my voice isn’t heard and had to bite my tongue to avoid stirring up drama. I wanted to speak up about my personal experiences while still saying something universal.” ‘Distancing’ will be out December 7th via Buzz Records. It’s available for preorder here. |
Track listing
| 1) Tides 2) Towers 3) Distancing 4) Places 5) Venus 6) Waves 7) Nice Age 8) Parade 9) Tunnel 10) Blowing |
In support of the release the band will heading out on an East Coast tour in December, before a longer run in the new year. The first phase of those dates can be found below.
Tour dates
12/05 – Montreal, QC – Turbohaus
12/07 – Asbury Park, NJ – AP Brewery
12/09 – New York, NY – Alphaville
12/10 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd Vinyl Lounge
12/12 – Cleveland, OH – Mahall’s Locker Room
12/13 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah
12/14 – Toronto, ON – Grolsch Spaces x Northern Contemporary
