culture
Sound Advice: Sof’ Sike by Slim Twig
A local singer's new '60s-influenced sound is a hit.
A little under a year ago, local musician, actor, hair model, and general weirdo-about-town Slim Twig told Now Magazine that he was going to switch his musical focus for the third time in his relatively short career. After starting out doing a sort of bleak, art-damaged, rockabilly thing , then moving on to hip-hop-influenced sample art, he announced that he was going to be making ’60s-influenced psychedelic pop from now on. It turns out this latest genre shift was a pretty good idea.
Sof’ Sike is Twig’s first full-length release featuring his new sound. Filled with catchy hooks, but still often creepy and weird, the album is an almost-perfect example of experimental pop. “Marzipan Sands” is sweet and melodic, but the vocals sound like they were recorded in a cave. The result is a song that’s fascinating and just a little disconcerting. “Madeline Has a Body”—which you can listen to by clicking on the sample above—has a great hook, and grabs equally from Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Jesus and Mary Chain. “Priscilla” has Twig sounding ominous and menacing, but the song is still oddly danceable.
All of Slim Twig’s musical turnabouts have happened over the course of a career that has spanned a little more than five years. This ’60s pop thing probably won’t last very long, and that’s a bummer, because he does it really well.
