Twist recently released their EP ‘Benefits,’ the follow up to their 2016 debut LP, ‘Spectral,’ via Buzz Records. As the band are out on a North American tour that includes stops at Halifax Pop Explosion and shows with Weaves, Partner and The Rural Alberta Advantage, Twist have shared the video for the EP’s closer, Freak. Watch it via YouTube below.
The EP is comprised of a collection of songs that were honed while the band were touring in support of ‘Spectral,’ playing around North America with artists like Chastity Belt, Half Waif, Dilly Dally, TOPS, Oh Sees and Jimmy Eat World, and the songs bear the marks of that experience. The 4 tracks display a newfound focus and confidence, and a cohesive sonic direction, as Hermiston’s bandmates find new ways to augment the sharp pop sensibility that underpins her songwriting.
Following the upbeat, dreamy jangle pop of the EP’s earlier singles Benefits and Leave This Town, Freak creates a contrast with it’s moody, psych-adjacent swirl, moving at a meditative creep as singer/songwriter Laura Hermiston’s vocals and an arachnidian guitar line interact in the upper register. According to Hermiston the song is about the experience of being manipulated, and finding a way to reassert control, and it’s video, directed by Brittany Lucas and Jacq Andrade, is an examination of the cinematic tropes of a “psychotic woman,” as she explains to Noisey:
“The song is about feeling confused and wanting to not be a victim anymore and to take control. I wanted a cinematic video with a narrative to capture this sentiment without it being a literal adaptation of the lyrics.
Directors Brittany Lucas and Jacq Andrade adapted this idea and based the video on the role of the ‘psychotic woman’ in cinema. It explores the portrayal of how a woman is often driven to insanity by obsession, paranoia, jealousy, and isolation.
The video showcases the places the mind can go. It shows the illusions that people can create for themselves that turns into a world of obsession, mania, and ultimately regret. In relation to the song, I think this drives home the idea of feeling manipulated and figuring out how to leave a situation. Regaining your control.”
‘Benefits’ is out now via Buzz Records. It’s available for purchase here.
‘Benefits’ tracklist
1) Going Home
2) Benefits
3) Leave This Town
4) Freak
Tour dates
10.10 Toronto, ON – The Baby G*
10.11 Ottawa, ON – House of Targ
10.12 Montreal, QC – Brasserie Beaubien
10.13 Burlington, VT – The Upper Roost
10.14 Manhattan, NY – Babycastles
10.15 Brooklyn, NY – Silent Barn
10.16 Cambridge, MA – Zuzu
10.17 Quebec City, QC – Le Cercle”
10.18 Moncton, NB – Claude’s House
10.20 Halifax, NS – Halifax Pop Explosion%
10.21 Halifax, NS – The Syrup Factory^
* w/ Saint PE, Crocodiles
” w/ Partner
% w/ Weaves
^ w/ Rural Alberta Advantage
