Twin Peaks

The flaming embers of '60s garage rock and the flaming-hot fire of the 2010s garage punk sound burn bright in Twin Peaks. The group was formed by four young Chicago natives (vocalist/guitarist Cadien Lake James, guitarist Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan, and drummer Connor Brodner) in the early 2010s. The guys had known each other and been friends since elementary school, but only formed a band after the duo James had with his brother Hal split up so Hal could join the Smith Westerns. They began playing together near the end of high school, then went on tour during their senior year. Before heading out on the road, they had quickly and cheaply recorded an album in James' basement to sell in order to keep them in gas and beer. Titled Sunken, the album caught the ear of Autumn Tone, which issued it in the summer of 2013. After graduating, James, Dolan, and Brodner headed to Olympia to attend Evergreen College, but they decided school wasn't for them, so they swung by L.A. to get Frankel and headed back to Chicago. Once there they began working on a second album with producers Andrew Humphrey and Colin Croom. Taking more time to craft their sound but never losing the wild and loose feel of their live set, the album showed the bandmembers' decision to quit school and stick together was wise. Wild Onion was issued by Grand Jury in summer 2014, just a few weeks after Twin Peaks wowed the crowd at the Pitchfork Festival with their set. More festivals including Lollapalooza followed amid a relentless touring schedule that took multiple trips across the U.S. and saw Canada, Mexico, the U.K., and Western Europe before their third LP, Down in Heaven, arrived in spring 2016. With Croom joining the lineup on keyboards, the album retained Twin Peaks' rough edges while drawing inspiration from the reflective tone of favorite works from 1968 (the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Beatles). ~ Tim Sendra