This summer has been a wild ride for Los Angeles-based satanic doo-wop band Twin Temple. From being shoved into the headlines and endless clickbait articles about their fallout with Charley Crockett, who dropped them as his opener, to getting tapped by Jack White to open his show at the Hollywood Palladium later this month and anticipating the release of their latest album, Doomed Lovers, the band has experienced a wide range of emotions.
“It’s been a strange time for sure,” laughs Alexandra James, who along with her husband Zachary James founded Twin Temple. Now, Twin Temple is busy traveling the country for their second tour with Danzig. They will perform in Houston on Saturday, September 12 at the Bayou Music Center taking the stage with a seven-piece band.
“We’re both huge fans,” says Zachary. “I grew up listening to the Misfits and it definitely informed my taste and Glenn has become a friend and a supporter for us and it’s incredible to have him in our corner. To get to play these shows again is just a nightmare come true.”
Twin Temple is on the cusp of releasing their third studio album, Doomed Lovers, due out October 9. For Doomed Lovers, the couple took their search for vintage sounds to another level and sought out the production of country royalty, Shooter Jennings.
“It was such a cool experience working with Shooter and getting to work at Sunset Sound. It’s one of the last independently owned recording studios in Hollywood and since we are really influenced and big fans of those classic records made in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s in Hollywood, it was really cool to get to work in one of those classic studios,” says Zachary.
The duo leaned into their admiration for the Nashville sound of the ‘50s and ‘60s co-created by legendary producer Owen Bradley, who Alexandra points out is the “Southern Phil Spector” nudging their sound away from their previous doo-wop heavy songs.
“It felt like an exciting way and time to have that musical conversation especially with Shooter, who has got such a deep knowledge of all of that. It was really fun to just uncover more about the craftsmanship and recording techniques of that era and Zach went on an absolute rabbit hole to nail every single sound to be as period-correct as possible,” says Alexandra noting his particular obsession with recreating the bass tick-tac sound of that era.
“I’m completely obsessed with this little clicking sound and I’m constantly trying to figure out how to better recreate it closer to what I hear in my head,” agrees Zachary. “It drives me crazy but I also love it.”
“Me too,” adds Alexandra. “We went deep on some of these other period correct sounds originating from the ‘60s and we learned a lot. It was exciting to get to explore that because we are huge fans of all classic American music and country and western being part of that. We have a deep love for this legacy of American storytelling that also lives in country music.”
The title track features the Bulgarian Philharmonic, creating a spectacular and powerful effect. “It felt like Christmas morning,” says Alexandra describing the two getting up and watching the orchestra track their songs through a live stream.
“When we heard them all playing it I cried. It’s definitely a creative highlight for me and a reminder of what’s so exciting about music. To hear all these musicians cutting it live was just a beautiful experience and something that I never thought as a little girl sitting around playing power chords that I would get to experience,” says Alexandra who vividly recalls connecting with an Elvis cassette of his golden hits as a very young child.
For the couple, Doomed Lovers not only allowed them the chance to delve deeper into the nuances of what makes their favorite songs, but it also is a very personal album for them in terms of telling their own stories on the record.
“Zach and I are always trying to push the boundaries of what we do a little bit further. We try not to 100 percent repeat ourselves while still staying true to the things that we are obsessed with love and are inspired by. Honestly, these last few years have been really devastating to us not only personally but professionally and so more and more of these songs were amassing that were kinda depressing,” says Alexandra who channeled her grief and rage into her lyrics and melodies.
“I read that grief is just the other side of love and the deeper you love, the deeper you grieve and the one consoling thing throughout this whole period beyond writing songs was Zach. His love really carried me through this whole period,” says Alexandra adding that he has always been a deeply romantic person who doesn’t do anything half-heartedly.
Twin Temple not only gave the couple, who met as teenage punk rockers, an opportunity to spend more time together, but also a chance to slow down and embrace their individual talents.
“When we met as teenage punk rockers we always said that country music would be our retirement plan. At a certain point you got to start slowing down, stop jumping off the rafters and maybe put your nudie suit on and use sparkle in a different way,” says Alexandra.
Thankfully together they sparkle with Alexandra’s rare and hypnotizing vocal range that embodies a sweet soulfulness with a natural grit and Zachary’s meticulous playing, both products of many years of searching for ways to replicate their influences while adding in their touch of darkness.
“I think I’d be lying if we said we never had any fear,” says Alexandra discussing the frequent death threats they receive due to inaccurate stories in the far-right Christian press, with the first round of death threats being a product of Texas-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones spreading damaging misinformation to his followers.
“Definitely a goal is to move through life fearlessly and unapologetically and for the most part I’m proud to say that we’ve stuck to our guns when it comes to expressing ourselves authentically.”
It would be a mistake to overlook the band’s talent and desire to push themselves and their audiences artistically by hyper-fixating on the Satanist aspect of their art. For Twin Temple, the darkness is only one part of a much larger picture. At its heart, the band has always been about individuality — embracing the freedom to explore the things that fascinate them, reject expectations and create something that feels entirely their own.
“I think it’s about embracing who you are and inherently it’s outsider culture but it’s also refusing to conform to whatever dogmatic rule may be in existence for us and I think that’s the part that really resonated with us,” she says of the religion.
For Alexandra that connection to outsider culture is deeply personal. As a first-generation American, she never quite felt like she fit into society in a prescribed way, so she sought out places where she could feel a sense of belonging.
“I was discovering punk rock, horror, poets, thinkers, philosophies and underground films that were like hey, there’s a place for you. It might not be as Miss America, but there’s a place for you in America regardless. Over time gathering heroes, everyone literally from Selena to Anton LaVey, to me these were people who really transcended the idea of what you were supposed to be doing and the limits and shackles that they placed on you as a person.”
Twin Temple will perform in support of Danzig on Saturday, September 12, 6 p.m. at Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas. For more information, visit twintemple.com. $53.
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