Mr Twin Sister

Mr. Twin Sister’s sound is easy to get lost in, but not necessarily one that gets lost in itself. There has been a complacent sense of traditionalism surfacing in the dream pop genre and thankfully Mr. Twin Sister has managed to avoid this. The group has strong direction and seems to know specifically how to harness interesting qualities out of this ubiquitous and tired genre. The music has the placidity and ambient characteristics typical of indie shoegaze, but has underpinning subtleties that are intriguing and ultimately distinguishing.
Their live performances are well executed and do a masterful job of capturing all the nuances heard on the album. The slightest guitar swells are perfectly recreated in the live setting and the even beat of the drums never seem to go out of synch. The keyboards are simply laid out but embody a majestic layered sound. Dev Gupta uses the classic Yamaha DX7, which accounts for much of the groups retro 80s sound. Its deep dreamlike organ sound and airy bell rhodes emulation make appearances throughout the show. Syncopated guitar riffs sneak in to jazz things up and the drum patterns seem to ebb and flow in trance like sequences.
Though the band’s music is heavily indebted to a downbeat sound, their performances are still highly engaging. Lead singer Andrea seems to change her appearance with each tour. I literally thought they got a new singer at one point. During one of their performances she can be seen with bleach blonde hair and glasses, and at another with dark hair and exaggerated makeup. At one show she was singing a song standing on a chair with a purple wig. Some of the antics going on at their shows don’t particularly seem to fit with their music, but this contrast is much welcomed by the audience and for one thing it keeps things interesting.

Quite a large amount of new indie acts categorise themselves as dream pop as they are unable to forcefully identify their wishy washy sounds. Long Island band Mr Twin Sister can boldly say that make they make is dream pop as it is both absorbing and enthralling all at once with a wonderful level of gloss applied throughout. The live show carries a similar style with it as the five musicians onstage go about creating their airy pop music.

They have been a hit with critics since the offset so a large amount of recommendation brings spectators from far and wide to their show. The stages seem to be growing in size consistently yet the group do not tend to alter their performance style, it is all quite somber and entranced yet this is credit to the focus they invest into the show. Andrea Estella thanks the crowd for the support and breaks the spell bound notion for a moment before introducing an early favourite 'All Around And Away We Go' which receives the largest reaction of the evening.

It was a while since I last saw Twin Sister. When I got the news that they'd be coming back to the Rickshaw Stop (one of my favorite venues in SF), I thought, "Oh! Cool... Wonder what they've been up to. Hm. I wonder if they still got it."

Boy did they still have it.

New arrangements, medleys, ambient soups, freakouts, saxophone solos, gut-punching sub bass parts, new songs, and a brand new addition to the live band, a serious conga player! They even brought a friend+DJ from NYC who absolutely killed it on the 1s and 2s...

GO SEE THEM. YOU WON'T REGRET IT.

Fantastic show! They've been an instant favorite of mine ever since their 2014 self titled album was released which is how I discovered them. Definitely have to check them out! Funky, groovy, synthy, dream pop! The Holocene location was crowded for a Monday night which only underlines how great a band they are to have that kind of draw... 10/10!

This show was fantastic! I'd definitely go again if/when Mr Twin Sister plays here again. They have a wonderful relaxed energy on stage. The crowd was very into it and having a good time, without getting super rowdy or wild, so it was great. Worth more than the $12 ticket.