American rock quintet Twin Peaks' third album, Down in Heaven, is a 13-song rock record that bleeds influences from throughout rock history; anyone who loves the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street will instantly detect the legendary band's influence on these boys from Chicago.
On this latest work, the band seem to have largely shed their party-rock attitude, opting for a more refined songwriting process that yields sharp results throughout. Luckily for fans, tracks such as "Butterfly" or "Have You Ever?" still find the band digging back to their garage roots. Throughout, the band prove they are still masters of honing the perfect riff, then playing it to perfection, chiselling it into the listener's ear canals.
A range of instrumentation can be heard here, from harmonica to horns, all touches that genuinely add to the record, allowing songs like "Heavenly Showers" to build and flesh out at just the right moment. Lyrically, the band seem wiser, too, as exemplified on the refrain of "Cold Lips," where singer Cadien Lake James sings, "You can live how you want, if you don't mind living alone."
A well-rounded and buoyant album, Down in Heaven is Twin Peaks' most mature work to date and a satisfying listen, even if it lacks some of the urgency that made their past work so thrilling.
(Grand Jury)On this latest work, the band seem to have largely shed their party-rock attitude, opting for a more refined songwriting process that yields sharp results throughout. Luckily for fans, tracks such as "Butterfly" or "Have You Ever?" still find the band digging back to their garage roots. Throughout, the band prove they are still masters of honing the perfect riff, then playing it to perfection, chiselling it into the listener's ear canals.
A range of instrumentation can be heard here, from harmonica to horns, all touches that genuinely add to the record, allowing songs like "Heavenly Showers" to build and flesh out at just the right moment. Lyrically, the band seem wiser, too, as exemplified on the refrain of "Cold Lips," where singer Cadien Lake James sings, "You can live how you want, if you don't mind living alone."
A well-rounded and buoyant album, Down in Heaven is Twin Peaks' most mature work to date and a satisfying listen, even if it lacks some of the urgency that made their past work so thrilling.