{"id":312588,"date":"2026-02-23T06:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/312588\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T06:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:45:07","slug":"twisted-teens-blame-the-clown-album-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/312588\/","title":{"rendered":"Twisted Teens: Blame the Clown Album Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

In certain punk circles, Twisted Teens<\/a> have already made it. That\u2019s partially due to bandleader Caspian Honeywell\u2019s time on the circuit in the defunct anarchist group Blackbird Raum<\/a>, who jump-started<\/a> the folk-punk movement almost 20 years ago. But mainly, it\u2019s the result of the New Orleans duo\u2019s unique stamp on the sound of underground punk: Honeywell, often in a leather vest, howls with a pack-a-day voice over racing, lo-fi guitar, while RJ Santos, always sporting a dapper suit and tie, plays pedal steel. It\u2019s garage punk with an old-school country twang; as their personality seeps through the sound like dye, it takes on the color of music\u2019s sepia-toned past and technicolor present.<\/p>\n

Twisted Teens\u2019 restless slacker approach seems contradictory by definition until you recall the Andrew Savages of the world. Where Parquet Courts<\/a> rode a proverbial bull<\/a> through the crowded streets of New York City, Twisted Teens\u2019 2024 self-titled debut<\/a> kicked up its bare feet on a Louisiana porch with a casual wave for onlookers. On their follow-up, Blame the Clown, the band unleashes an even tighter batch of songs born from sheer charisma, straightforward hooks, and the no-bullshit storytelling that gets passed down between generations over eggs and grits.<\/p>\n

No score yet, be the first to add.<\/p>\n

Everything about Twisted Teens\u2019 musical demeanor is casual and unpretentious. They shoot from the hip when writing punk songs and play with the precision of an in-house country band, all while maintaining the relaxed confidence of musicians who act like they\u2019ve been here before. \u201cIs It Real?\u201d opens Blame the Clown with the duo\u2019s quintessential blend, pinning Honeywell\u2019s storied rasp over the tinny solos of Santos\u2019 nimble pedal steel. Standout \u201cCircus Clown\u201d takes off in a garage-punk sprint, but Hollywell\u2019s lasso of a bassline and Santos\u2019 warped and reversed metallic yawn inflate the song with helium until it soars away. The blown-out whammy bar slide on \u201cHurricane\u201d verges on shoegaze, but then the pedal steel juts in to tether it back to Twisted Teens\u2019 sound. No wonder Santos earned the nickname \u201cRazor\u201d: He whittles his lines into such clear points that they leave a smooth, shaved surface behind each song.<\/p>\n

Punk musicians have incorporated cowboy stoicism and spaghetti Western guitar for decades, from the Gun Club<\/a>\u2019s \u201cMother of Earth\u201d in 1982 on to Teo Wise\u2019s Fermo o Sparo!<\/a> last year. Twisted Teens make it their own by relaxing into their ragged ways. Blame the Clown is coarse and often blown-out, as if even the tape recorder they used to track the album was recovered from an old mine shaft. That scrappy garage-punk sheen lends credence to the band\u2019s tales while it sneaks fiddle, piano, and synths into the background. On \u201cLittle Seed,\u201d Hollywell proselytizes the vagabond lifestyle, proving no baggage is needed if you barter with a satchel of seeds: grow a carrot to feed a horse in exchange for a ride, or plant connections by offering lonely elders your hand in friendship. Close your eyes and Twisted Teens appear with calloused hands and dirty sweat smudges in the Louisiana humidity. It\u2019s what made their acoustic cover of \u201cSea of Love<\/a>\u201d rival Cat Power<\/a>\u2019s version, or why you learn Santos paints rusty saws<\/a> by hand and think, \u201cOh yeah, that makes sense.\u201d They just sound like guys who\u2019re gonna throw down on clawhammer banjo in a fiddle<\/a> jam<\/a> session<\/a> when they\u2019re bored.<\/p>\n