Twigs

It would seem that the Scandinavian invasion is gathering speed. This time it's Twigs (who hail from Norway) littering the music scene with their own blend of musical fuzziness. Epicure is the band's second full-length album (although they have also made some appearances on various compilations) and it sounds like the kind of music a confident, established band would make. There's a lot more variety here than you would anticipate from the first few tracks; there are moments where feedback-laden guitars dominate the music, but the band can also take a quieter route too, if the mood takes them. Every so often the vocals just disappear into drone-y noise, only to re-emerge unscathed on the next song. The eclectic nature of the album works to its advantage because it stops Epicure from getting dull. The variety also translates into an album that has some more obvious influences like Lush and Sonic Youth. The one complaint is that some songs are a little on the long side; once they creep towards the five-minute mark, they don't have much left to say and just tread water for the remainder of the time. Still, spending an extra minute or so with Twigs couldn't be regarded as punishment, and fans of fuzzy female-fronted bands will really enjoy Epicure.