The latest offering from Los Angeles dream-pop duo Twin Oaks is perhaps their most gorgeous and poignant till yet. Titled Living Rooms, the 5-track EP was recorded in “various open spaces using minimal equipment” and the reason behind this decision becomes strikingly evident to us when, on pressing play, the record arrests us with its simple and starkly naked beauty.
The music on Living Rooms is patient and slow-burning, sometimes reminiscent of The xx but far different in style and tone. While the warm voice of Lauren Brown leads the way, she is accompanied by nothing but Aaron Domingo‘s sparse, reverb-y guitar chords. The aim is to envelope the listener in the record’s mood and feeling – an aim that the record achieves effortlessly. As you heed the lyrics to the music, the experience only becomes more haunting. Each track gushes with feelings of loneliness, abandonment and the pain of being unable to “fit in”. Through the EP, Lauren repeatedly compares herself to an “island” and on Rumors – a portrait of the alienation that comes with living in a large, bustling city, knowing that you don’t matter – she declares in resignation: “I don’t see myself in any of the things I have”. On Dreamers, meanwhile, she tries to wring free of her shackles and reach out: “But I’ll build you a home/ I’ll make a life/ Trying to get it right”.
Favorite Tracks: Distance Between, The River, Rumors
Track List
1. Collapse (Quiet version) 05:31
2. Distance Between 04:46
3. Rumors 03:58
4. The River 02:51
5. Felt Like Dying 04:24
Related Links
Twin Oaks’ Website
Twin Oaks on Facebook
Twin Oaks on Twitter
Twin Oaks on YouTube
Twin Oaks on Spotify
Twin Oaks on BandCamp