Twinkranes have been hanging around the Dublin scene for several years, but it's only since they were picked up by cool UK indie label Twisted Nerve that they're given a chance to shine. Their debut album is an exercise in hypnotic, fuzz-addled psychedelia that begs to be listened to with the lights out.
One of the few Irish bands who've stood the test over the past 5 years, Twinkranes are an anomaly. Initially lumped in with the 'leather jacket brigade' that comprised several small-fry Dublin bands with big ambitions but not the smarts to achieve them, the trio have triumphed in more than one way. Not only did they land a deal with Andy Votel's uber-cool Twisted Nerve label, but they've made a debut album to be proud of, too.
The kraturock influence is high on the Twinkranes agenda, no doubt - but it's a twisted, gnarled sort of kraut-flavoured vapour that seeps into these seven songs, rather than blatantly inspiring them. 'Spektrumtheatresnakes' general atmosphere sounds like the Dubliners went into the studio immediately after Arthur Lee & Love had finished recording 'Forever Changes', set up a ouija board, turned off all the lights and played all the tapes backwards.
There's a retro garage/psychedelic feel to this album that has also seen them compared to late '60s duo Silver Apples, but at its core, there's a modernity to these tracks that keeps it fresh and vibrant. The pace is usually brisk; instrumentals 'High Tekk Train Wreck' and 'The Charmer' bleep, shudder and break off into gloopy tangents but never relent on tempo, and when vocalist The Blonde Fox does smatter songs like 'The Market of the Bizarre' and 'Put Up a Light' with vocals, his detached intonations sound more like the chanting of a black magick ritual than actual coherent lyrics - no bad thing.
This is an album with grooves as dark as night and melodies as hypnotic as a faulty pacemaker. It's strange, menacing and comforting in all the right ways, and is one of the best Irish albums you'll hear all year.
