Couple of bayou punks simultaneously take their deep south roots seriously and lightly – what could go wrong? Turns out, nothing. Twisted Teens’ Blame the Clown is one of the most engrossing recent additions to the punk genre.
The duo’s salty-aired country is dictated primarily by RJ “Razor Ramone” Santos’ slide guitar on tunes like Wild Connection and Circus Clown, but the horse rider riff of Is It Real provides some distinct justification to the southern tag.
When you think about country, you might not think about musical traits at all, rather a sad, sad man, singing a sad, sad song. Country morphs into sadness and bittersweet bellows from Andrew Savage-esque singer Caspian Hollywell, a pioneer of folk punk who sings like he’s ready for the spaceworm to bust out of his heart at any moment, and that’s where the engrossment comes from; country-incensed punk by the clown once its makeup is wiped.
Makeup is reapplied for the silly-silly of I Operate; humour in its flickery riffs, and its anecdote about an unassuming, nightgown-clad woman being hit by the remnants of one’s circumcision; and the jangling sunshine pop of Peekaboo Hand, which hops around like any band’s late-‘60s novelty number before the crunching Who Could It Be gets a bit more serious – reminiscent of Wink by The Voidz – with its jangle, albeit sing-songy.
But as great as these sparser moments are, the album is at its best when it’s all heart, when songs begin by interrupting themselves, introducing a shivering sense of veracity like cliffhangers in soap operas.
While Hurricane is the show-stopping example of a song interrupting itself, its hooky bellow of “HURRICANE” is fairly “it’s been done” (to quote George Harrison in The Simpsons) by the time its slot as the tenth track comes around (compare with Not Real), leaving only acoustic scowler White Hot Coal and ambient instrumental Corpse Pose.
Hurricane still smacks you, like any good hurricane would, but Little Seed smacks you harder; all harmony, aghast singing unsettling itself against household guitar chords shaken up by tender slides, heartbroken whilst reclaiming optimism from an entity bound to grow. Following track 100 Bill Is Gone is comparable, and Hollywell sounds damn cut up about the money he’s dropped, crying “HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL IS GONE” with resounding, palpable arghs.
Hollywell spills on Not Real, the response to Is It Real that catches us in grieving, that screams “no” in denial when all the clues are there. It begins with immediate feels; a collision of slide guitar, hook-worthy rhythm guitar chords, and the most hustling drums on the album.
Sincerity never in doubt, Blame the Clown is recorded with a gruff gut-punch of lo-fi guitars that contain a realistic distortion. To state the bleeding obvious, it is not a revelation to consider punk rock so human or realistic, but Twisted Teens are so onboard with the concept on their second album that it feels like a revelation.
Best tracks – Little Seed – 100 Bill Is Gone – Not Real.
Rating – 9 out of 10
