Having a cavernous, baritone croon a la Nick Cave or Tom Waits can be pretty cool. It can also be pretty awful if done in the form of imitation.
Lucky for Toronto's Max Turnbull, known to his public as Slim Twig, his sound is more twisted-circus-goth-parade than sad-bastard-wannabe, and for that we salute him. Twig's first release on renowed indie label DFA, A Hound At The Hem could be a soundtrack for a Vincent Price B-horror film, beginning with the opening scene "Heavy Splendour" with the eldritch string arrangements of orchestral pop darling Owen Pallet.
But there will be no celebratory handclaps and feel good violin sweeps at the Hem- this is the Slim Twig show, and just as you imagine the curtain rising, someone tears it down and sets it on fire, leaving a skeleton doing the jig to "Clerical Collar". A work of nocturnal necromancy for those who favour mood over feel-good.
★★★★
(DFA)
