Twin Peaks

Lookout Low

BY Ian RodgersPublished Sep 11, 2019

9
Lookout Low immediately feels like it has been on constant repeat since the beginning of the summer. Twin Peaks' warm and groovy album is exemplary in its ability to create tracks that sound as if they've been part of the rock'n'roll canon for years.
 
Take "Dance Through It," which tells the story of an anonymous heroine who "has something to hide" that she conceals through her dancing. It's a tight, effective rock standard, with great additional vocals. That made it an obvious choice for the soundtrack of Flashdance in 1983, except it was released this year. Lookout Low boasts Mandela-effect grooves, burned into collective musical memory as firmly as The Berenstein Bears.
 
Alternate timelines aside, everything about this 44-minute record is tight. From hard-hitting opener "Casey's Groove" on to closer "Sunken II," no riff overstays its welcome. Colin Croom's vocals blend slacker bravado with moments of endearing vulnerability, like a slight voice crack on the first chorus of "Laid in Gold."
 
Another track that sounds timeless is "Better Than Stoned." It tells the story of casual love, a friend who is there with support and weed through it all. This chorus doesn't make grammatical sense, but it resonates in fuzzy romantic haze and is instantly familiar. More lonesome, country-infused songs like "Unfamiliar Sun" — led by Jack Dolan's soulful vocals — burrow their way into your heart over repeated listens.
 
There are mere days until the autumnal equinox, make sure you spend them listening to Lookout Low — the album of the summer you didn't know you were missing — with a loved one.
(Grand Jury)

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