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 Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
16
new
SPILL FILM REVIEW: HUNG UP ON A DREAM: THE ZOMBIES DOCUMENTARY
SPILL NEW MUSIC: ARK IDENTITY – “STILL IN LOVE”
SPILL TRACK OF THE MONTH: MAREUX – “WILD AT HEART”
SPILL FEATURE: SING EVERY SINGLE SONG UNTIL IT HURTS – A CONVERSATION WITH ANDY STOCHANSKY
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: OMD w/ WALT DISCO @ HISTORY, TORONTO
SPILL NEWS: ACCLAIMED CANADIAN SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST ROYAL WOOD ANNOUNCES NINTH STUDIO ALBUM ‘DEAR JOHN’ | TOUR DATES
SPILL NEWS: BASS DRUM OF DEATH ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘SIX’ OUT SEPTEMBER 12 & SHARE VIDEO FOR “DO NOTHING” | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
SPILL NEW MUSIC: MONITORS LEAD US DOWN A DARK, HYPNOTIC PATH ON “DANSE MACABRE” | THE FIRST SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM ‘THE MADELAINE AFFAIR’
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BRAINS – CRAZY MONSTER
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: JOHN WITHERSPOON – “END OF THE LINE AGAIN”
SPILL NEWS: YUKON BLONDE ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘FRIENDSHIP & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL’ OUT SEPTEMBER 19 ON DINE ALONE RECORDS | TOUR DATES
SPILL FEATURE: NO OVERPRODUCTION, NO OVERTHINKING – A CONVERSATION WITH DUNCAN LLOYD
SPILL NEW MUSIC: PETER LANDI – “DANDELION”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: WARFIELD MEETS THE KVB FOR TRIUMPHANT REMIX OF DEATHROCK DEVOTIONALS CLASSIC
  • 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 Month
  • 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 Month
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
230
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
 
9.0
John Jenkins
9.8

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
JOHN JENKINS RESTLESS HEARTS JOHN JENKINS MUSIC Liverpool-based John Jenkins has been releasing music since 2015. Restless Hearts is his first album since the brilliant and very personal Tuebrook, released in 2023. Jenkins is an artist that is [...]
 
8.0
The Brains

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BRAINS – CRAZY MONSTER

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
THE BRAINS CRAZY MONSTER CLEOPATRA RECORDS It may be hard to believe, but it has been 20 years since The Brains’ debut album, No Brain, No Pain. This psychobilly (as they describe themselves) have released eight studio albums, and Crazy [...]
 
9.0
The Legends Of Surf Guitar

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR

by Aaron Badgley on July 4, 2025
VARIOUS ARTISTS THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR OGLIO Releasing a live album of surf music on July 4 is absolutely perfect. This album has captured a moment in time and it is finally seeing the light of day. The Legends Of Surf Guitar brings together [...]
 
9.0
Church Of Trees

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – THIEF OF JOY

by Aaron Badgley on July 1, 2025
CHURCH OF TREES THIEF OF JOY INDEPENDENT Church Of Trees, the brainchild of multi-talented Bernard Frazer, burst on the scene in 2017 with their debut EP, Primitive Creatures. Since then, they have released five albums and a retrospective [...]
 
8.0
La Nouvelle Musique

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE – LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on June 30, 2025
LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE FRUITS DE MER RECORDS There are a number of ways you can approach your take on folk music, and very often the artists stick to the tried and true, sticking to the roots and traditional take on folk. Yet, [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS
9.0
9.8
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BRAINS – CRAZY MONSTER
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE LEGENDS OF SURF GUITAR
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – THIEF OF JOY
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE – LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE
8.0

STAY UP-TO-DATE
WITH OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!

Tweets by @spillmagazine

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

Copyright © 2024 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL CONTEST: WIN ONE OF TWO PAIRS OF TICKETS TO SEE OMD PERFORM LIVE AT HISTORY IN TORONTO ON JULY 4!
940
 
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: MAX RAEL – THE ENEMY IS US
866
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DUSTY SPRINGFIELD – LONGING
564
 
SPILL CONTEST: ENTER TO WIN A GWAR PRIZE PACK INCLUDING TICKETS TO SEE THEM LIVE AT HISTORY ON JUNE 9!
505
 
SPILL FEATURE: A NEW ERA OF CAR SEAT – A CONVERSATION WITH SETH DALBY, ETHAN IVES & ANDREW KATZ OF CAR SEAT HEADREST
449
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PETER MURPHY – SILVER SHADE
436
 
SPILL CONTEST: WIN A MEET-AND-GREET PACKAGE TO SEE ALESSIA CARA AT ROY THOMSON HALL ON MAY 15!
420
 
SPILL FEATURE: IT JUST FEELS LIKE WE’RE A LITTLE MORE IN CHARGE – A CONVERSATION WITH CRISPIAN MILLS OF KULA SHAKER
405
 
SPILL NEWS: THE BESNARD LAKES SET TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM ON OCTOBER 10
345
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – ALIVE IN THE CATACOMBS
306
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HOWARD JONES – PIANO COMPOSED IVORY & PIANO COMPOSED SPIRIO
289
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: VAGUE NOTION – “BASE SICK”
264
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LOWEST OF THE LOW – OVER YEARS AND OVERNIGHT
249
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES