The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Week
  • Books + Movies
  • About
16
new
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DREADNOUGHTS – ROLL AND GO
SPILL NEW MUSIC: ARKELLS ANNOUNCE ‘BLINK TWICE’ TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 23 | SUMMERTIME SINGLE “DANCE WITH YOU” FEATURING CŒUR DE PIRATE AND ALY & AJ OUT NOW
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: THE STEENS – “WHAT A WAY TO DIE”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: CHECK OUT DANCE PUNKS DATAROCK’S COMEBACK SINGLE “DOUBLE VISION” OUT NOW VIA YAP RECORDS
SPILL NEW MUSIC: SHE WANTS REVENGE’S JUSTIN WARFIELD RELEASES SOLO SINGLE “EVERYTHING TO ME”
SPILL NEWS: THE MARS VOLTA RELEASE TRACK & SHORT FILM “BLACKLIGHT SHINE” | THE BAND’S FIRST NEW SINGLE IN OVER A DECADE
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: WEIMAR – DANCING ON A VOLCANO
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: STRANGE LOT – “FUNNY SOUNDS”
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: THE SAVANTS OF SOUL – “SPOT AT THE TOP”
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: BROKE ROYALS – “ALL I HAVE TO SHOW”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: WORK WIFE & MARY HOOD – “DROWN ME OUT”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DYLAN MOON – OPTION EXPLORE
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: VOX SOMNIA – “SINS”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: MICKEY MOONE – “COME ON BABY”
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: PLASTIC HARPOONS – “DIAMOND WINGS”
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: LONDON PLANE – BRIGHT BLACK
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Week
  • Books + Movies
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • Track Of The Day
    • Track Of The Week
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
140
previous article
Album Review: Islands - Ski Mask
next article
SPILL FEATURE: DAVID BOWIE IS...

Album Review: Twin Forks – Twin Forks

Twin Forks
Twin Forks

Dine Alone Records

RATING 

The Twin Forks is a good band, but their album post-production work hinders their listeners in appreciating their real talent.

Perhaps it is unfair to mention Mumford & Sons or The Lumineers, but it is impossible not to draw obvious comparisons. Both groups are at the epicentre of the best folk rock revolution in recent memory. What makes Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers so powerful as artists is their strong acoustic delivery and their deeply meaningful lyrics. By comparison, The Twin Forks do not live up to these two qualities.

Their sound is very overproduced and hides, or at the very least underwhelms, the beauty of their melodies. All of their tracks suffer from enormous post-production. The human ear, like the human soul, longs for the harmony of their voices and the simplicity of their instruments, but is suffocated with modern technology.

Lyrically, they do not fare any better either. I offer a very quick comparison.

“Kiss Me Darling”
(The Twin Forks)

It’s been a long time since
I saw you in the village playing mandolin
Something in your singing made my burdens lift
Hanging onto every word to cross your lips

Feels like a long way gone
But I can still remember how you sang that song
Smiling like nobody had ever done you wrong
Strumming like you knew you had me all along

“Flowers in Your Hair”
(The Lumineers)

When we were younger we thought
Everyone was on our side
Then we grew a little
And romanticized the time I saw
Flowers in your hair
Cause it takes a boy to live
But it takes a man to pretend he was there

Without digressing into the minutia of literary theory, it may be enough here to point out what is missing – depth. It would be very unfair to profess that “Kiss Me Darling” doesn’t offer any meaning because it does. I am sure it provides tremendous meaning to the songwriter, but it lacks that universal appeal that is so imperative in order to make a connection with the listener. The Lumineer’s song by contrast, has the necessary literary depth because it employs powerful literary devices. It uses humour and can evoke deep, vividly reflective images that allow the listener an opportunity to return time and time again.

I sincerely hope that this is not the last we hear from The Twin Forks. The world has room for more artists like them and the musical panorama certainly needs them. They have tremendous strength, a gift of melody making and a deep desire to connect with their fans. Perhaps their next record will provide the seemingly missing ingredients.

Greg Kieszkowski (Twitter @GregK72)

twinforksmusic.com/

Item Reviewed

Album Review: Twin Forks – Twin Forks

Author

Greg Kieszkowski

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
5.0
—
3.5
Total Spill Rating
—
Total Fan Rating
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewstwin forks
album reviews, twin forks
About the Author
Greg Kieszkowski
Grzegorz Kieszkowski originally hails from Bydgoszcz, Poland. After his father was released from prison in 1984, for his involvement with the Solidarity movement, Greg and his family escaped to Canada in 1985. He makes Cobourg his home, along with his wife and two small children. Greg is a graduate of York University, with a double major in English and Philosophy. Music has always been in his blood, and although his tastes have matured, he will always have a soft spot for the Metal days of the late 1980’s. He is a full time English teacher and a professional photographer. Part of the allure of writing is the possibility of conversation, and he would love to hear your comments and opinions. Please feel free to visit his personal website - grzegorzkieszkowski.com.
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviews
 
8.0
The Dreadnoughts

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DREADNOUGHTS – ROLL AND GO

by Michelle Cooney on June 24, 2022
The Dreadnoughts Roll And Go Stomp Records The Dreadnoughts have been baptized with a variety of classifications, from “cluster folk” to “polka punk” to “ciderpunk”. Their new album, [...]
 
8.0
Dylan Moon

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DYLAN MOON – OPTION EXPLORE

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on June 17, 2022
Dylan Moon Option Explore RVNG Intl. Anybody who had a chance to hear Dylan Moon’s initial album Only the Blues, from 2019 might be taken aback by what is in the grooves (or bits) [...]
 
8.0
The Dream Syndicate

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DREAM SYNDICATE – ULTRAVIOLET BATTLE HYMNS AND TRUE CONFESSIONS

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on June 10, 2022
The Dream Syndicate Ultraviolet Battle Hymns And True Confessions Fire Records The Dream Syndicate came, dropped a few brilliant modern psych [...]
 
8.0
Wardruna

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WARDRUNA – KVITRAVN – FIRST FLIGHT OF THE WHITE RAVEN

by Samantha Wu on June 10, 2022
Wardruna Kvitravn – First Flight Of The White Raven Music For Nations/Sony Music/Columbia Germany/Bynorse Einar Selvik is the storyteller and mastermind [...]
 
8.0
The Fixx
9.6

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE FIXX – EVERY FIVE SECONDS

by Aaron Badgley on June 3, 2022
The Fixx Every Five Seconds The Orchard/BFD/JARC Records The Fixx made their debut in 1982 with their debut album Shuttered Room. Of course, they had formed earlier and paid their dues [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DREADNOUGHTS – ROLL AND GO
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DYLAN MOON – OPTION EXPLORE
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DREAM SYNDICATE – ULTRAVIOLET BATTLE ...
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WARDRUNA – KVITRAVN – FIRST FLIGHT ...
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE FIXX – EVERY FIVE SECONDS
8.0
9.6

Tweets by @spillmagazine

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Premieres
  • Track Of The Week
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Spill Magazine Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2022 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL FEATURE: CRUISE TO THE EDGE 2022 – THIS YEAR’S PROG CRUISE MAKES A LOT OF NOISE. A WHOLE LOT OF NOISE.
738
 
SPILL FEATURE: DON’T YOU FEEL CLOSER? – A CONVERSATION WITH CY CURNIN OF THE FIXX
574
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PRIMUS – CONSPIRANOID
574
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE FIXX – EVERY FIVE SECONDS
415
 
SPILL NEWS: BARENAKED LADIES TO RELEASE LIVE TRACKS FROM SOLD-OUT ROYAL ALBERT HALL SHOW | DELUXE EDITION OF ‘DETOUR DE FORCE’ OUT JUNE 3
340
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – UNLIMITED LOVE
330
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NAZARETH – SURVIVING THE LAW
324
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: LOST CAT – “L.O.S.T.”
324
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: JERRY CANTRELL w/ LOLA COLETTE @ HISTORY, TORONTO
321
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: NIGHTWISH w/ BEAST IN BLACK @ HISTORY, TORONTO
301
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LUCIUS – SECOND NATURE
283
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DOROTHY – GIFTS FROM THE HOLY GHOST
268
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AVI KAPLAN – FLOATING ON A DREAM
262
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES