Slim Twig’s Vernacular Violence Review

4 October 2008, Adam @ 7:30 pm Slim Twigs Vernacular Violence Review

Slim Twig – Vernacular Violence

After some self-releases, Slim Twig signed with Paper Bag Records to release the Derelict Dialect EP on April 1st, followed soon after by this EP. He describes his own genre as “concrete rockabilly,” but Slim Twig’s music is unlike anything I’ve heard.

The music here creates atmosphere using a variety of subdued techniques. “Brothl Hunting” sounds like a group of computers approximating a rockabilly rhythm, “Street Proposition” brings to mind the image of the house band of a dark saloon playing a beat that never changes, while acoustic guitars and sustained synth lines create an organic and slightly sinister backdrop in “Tormen.” Throughout all, there’s an unmistakable notion that it’s all for show—You’re supposed to feel a certain way while experiencing the music, not taking the specifics seriously. every sound serves the final product, and the components are not meant to be analyzed.

The vocals are interesting, too—Slim Twig has a borderline storytelling style, although the lyrics paint pictures as opposed to anything linear. Much of the lyrics are hard to catch, which makes the snippets here and there even more baffling. His voice isn’t particularly musical, but he exudes a kind of charisma—imagine the kind of person whose conversation you barely overhear from a nearby table in a restaurant, and you incline your head towards them without realizing you’re doing it.

I love every song on this disc, but “Whiite Fantaseee” is the standout. It’s about as epic as unbombastic songs come, reaching its peak and then maintaining it for what seems like forever, before continuing to progress. The vocals disappear as instruments and noises are added, and when Slim Twig’s voice reappears … It sounds as caught up and lost in the song as the listener. “Whiite Fantaseee” runs just long enough for one to gain everything possible from the experience of listening to it. It is evidence that sound can tell a story and generate feelings without any literal reference points. In this way—and the following comment applies to the whole album—Slim Twig shares stories that are unopinionated and unfiltered.

Bottom Line: Toronto musician Slim Twig is an artist. Vernacular Violence is an audio recording, but it’s as cinematic as any movie, as entrancing as any painting, and as captivating as any book. I’m not often prone to cheesy simile wen describing music, but I’m not often this impressed.

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