In the dry heat of a desert summer, nothing sounds livelier, more effervescent, more eardrum-quenching than Twin Sister's debut full-length, In Heaven. A Brooklyn (by way of Long Island) chillwave quintet praised by all the right online tastemakers (i.e., Pitchfork), Twin Sister is led by adorable, chirpy-voiced Andrea Estella, who takes a few cues from disco-dazzled, Parallel Lines-era Blondie and is clearly having too much fun presenting dance-pop gems like orbit-inducing "Space Babe." "Kimmi in a Rice Field," on the other hand, cops the gated drumbeat from Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire," then saturates the whole affair in synth layers and eerie effects.
"Luna's Theme" starts out a spare ballad, shifts into a dense composition worthy of a summer blockbuster's end credits, then strips itself down to a smattering of pipe organ notes. Estella eventually embraces her inner torch singer in "Spain." "I'll wait for you here," she pledges, here being either a bedroom or back alley.
But it's New Wave-kissed "Bad Street," all funky momentum and roller-rink attitude, that will surely earn raves. The song's video, in which the band prepares and deftly pulls off a neighborhood kid's birthday party, is also a treat.
Twin Sister's live show is said to be divine, so grab this CD at the band's Rialto Theatre show with Explosions in the Sky next Thursday. You can thank us later.
