Twin Heart were an Ayrshire based three piece Alternative/Emo/Aggressive Pop group who were together from the 22nd July 2014 to the 27th July 2019. Two members of the band, Murray and Dawn previously performed in a band called Mechanical Smile, alongside Callum McClune and Nic Pilmer. Mechanical Smile having existed from 2009 – 2014. After Mechanical Smile split Dawn and Murray still wanted to perform and so Twin Heart was born from the ashes of Mechanical Smile. Twin Heart is made up of Dawn Baxter on Guitar/Lead Vocals, Owen Burt on Bass/Vocals and Murray Baxter on Drums/Vocals. I asked Murray where the name for the name band came from and he had this to say:
“It’s basically a reference to our old band finishing up. We all had a love/passion to continue and our relationship with our friends and family were like a close family so we decided on Twin Heart as we shared the love of music”
Their debut EP Progress: Decline was released on July 1st 2016 via Rip It Up Records and it is that EP that we will be reviewing today. If you want to find out more about the band then you can check out an interview I did with them by clicking here. You can also check out another review I did of them by clicking here. Lastly, as you can probably tell from what I said above, much like Mechanical Smile, sadly Twin Heart is no more, their official last performance was at K-Fest 2019 in Kilmarnock, but they don’t plan to stop performing, they have in fact started a new band DreamKids, with releases expected in the near future. Anyway, returning to the review. Let’s see what I thought.
‘Ghosts’ starts with drums which kick of the beat of the song before we are taken over by a very strong guitar sequence and Dawn Baxter’s intense voice which carries you through the rest of the song, complimented by Murray who provided some impressive screamo vocals and I know how hard it can be to do that successfully. This song builds really well and I think it’s definitely one that I’ll listen to again and again because there’s something about it that draws you in. The song is so passionate and powerful. I know a lot of people that would call this type of music emo and they probably meant it as an insult but in this case I’d agree but only because its sort for emotional, because to me this song is dripping in feeling and I think that’s perhaps why I enjoyed it so much.
‘Young Eyes’ was next up, one of the longer tracks on the album but I enjoyed every second of it, the song opens really well with a trashing rhythm that really gives the song a lot of energy and volume, I’d imagine when performed live it’d really excite the crowd. Not that It can’t be appreciated at home. They layered Dawn’s singing over the instrumental part really well, an excellent fusion which complimented rather than overpowered her voice. You really get taken in by this track, the screamo again being used very well to add depth and fire to the track. This track has an extended vocal part which mellows the song out right before the final part which is considerably heavier and more engaging because it came after a much quieter moment, in particular this part is good because it again has the fusion of Dawn and the male members of the group singing in unison it adds more weight to the lyrics.
Suffocating had a very classic guitar intro, that gave way to dawns voice and again screamo backing vocals, this song also had some moments of really exposure for the bass which I liked, the quieter moments building to the more intense ones. This felt different to the previous tracks, which weren’t necessarily heavier but felt busier, this felt more focused and calmer. It gave equal balance to instruments and vocals allowing both to shine and shine they did. When I say this song was calmer than the previous two don’t mistake that for slower, it was plenty fast and full of energy which seem to be a tribute of the band.
‘Progress’ lasts a minute and four seconds and is entirely instrumental, some might see it as more of an opener to the final track in the EP but I think that it merits more than that, it’s certainly short especially when two tracks on this EP are five minutes long apiece. But I think that having this not only provides a verbal palate cleanser before the final song but also gives them chance to really show of both sides of the outfit, for three tracks before this they have shown off with tremendous success their voices and yes we also heard the instruments but this track allows us to really here them play. It take a moment and does something with a track that simple, soft and yet in its own way very powerful. Perhaps it’s just me but I feel they manage to convey feeling through this track just as much as the others, maybe more so because you need to look for it rather than being given it.
I’ve listened to this song quite a few times since I received the tracks for review and I think it’s my favourite on the EP perhaps not technically the best, it’s up to you which you prefer but I had the line “I’ll keep fighting ‘til the end” it’s a powerful message and as someone who grew up on a diet of superheroes who basically lived…and died by this message it really rang true to me. Honestly please give it a listen.
So that’s what I thought of Twin Heart’s EP Progress: Decline and if you want to check that out for yourself then head on over to Bandcamp. Support the band by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
First Published on: https://www.newhellfireclub.co.uk
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