Olsen Twinns: Found Things Review
For a scene that has had its share of success in the last few years, it doesn’t seem like the Minneapolis music community as a whole is ready to embrace the instrumenal electronic corner of our universe quite as quickly as other genres. Some of the most interesting and commanding work of the last few years has come from bands like Food Pyramid, Lighted, Tender Meat, Paper Tiger, Marijuana Deathsquads and transplants who emigrated from the Twin Cities artists like Gigamesh and Mux Mool, but none of those bands have been given the love that seems to rain down on other local acts. Into this yawning enthusiasm gap comes the new album Found Things by Olsen Twinns, the second LP released on the local Forged Artifacts label.
The 11 songs on Found Things are well put together IDM tracks that spread nicely along the electronic music spectrum. The songs are delicate without being brittle and varied without being scatterbrained. Starting with the staccato guitar sample of “Window and Wall,” which builds into a textured, Books-esqe ambient song, the record is a strong collection. At times Olsen Twinns mastermind Mickey Davis ventures into Mark McGuire territory, namely with the sparkling synths on “Are you as happy as I am?” and on glitchy IDM of “Playdate,” where like McGuire he uses serene vocal samples to really bring the song down to earth. He picks up the pace on songs like the swirling “2+2” and “Check Yr Pulse” along with the grinding beats of “It’s Shit like This,” songs that jolt the listener out of the haze that the bulk of the album breezily guides you into. Despite the fact that this is an excellent record, I imagine it with be greeted with a positive response from a handful of local music publications and than be left to a small band of diehards in the local scene. This is unfortunate. Found Things is another notch in the belt of the Twin Cities music scene and a clear, concise artist statement from Davis, even if it probably isn’t going to get the love it deserves.
Buy the record HERE or at their CD release show tonight at the 7th Street Entry with Gemini Club.
Writer / co-founder
