Twisted Ankle’s self-titled debut album is determined to wriggle its way out of any boxes you might want to put it in. Over the course of eleven songs many different musical avenues find themselves explored, though all of them are loud and dirty.
Opening song ‘(All My Life I Wanted To Be A) Mortgage’ sets out the general shape of the tracks to come, angular guitar riffs cutting through an underlying mass of sound created by the bass and drums. Each track disrupts the formula in a different way, this opening number comes with some added spoken word parts. ‘Slamdoorshutout’ sounds like a beat poem turned up to 11, then there’s the seemingly introspective sound of ‘Shit-Eating Grin’, all the while remaining heavily distorted and upbeat.
Words often seem unconnected and strange, but there are some very quotable snippets. For instance “experience is tasty, who cares if it’s fast” from the track ‘Warmed Through’ or “how could I possibly express myself if I don’t look chic” from ‘My Favourite Shops’, a track that pre-dates the current worldwide pandemic but seems to contain many forewarning nods to the situation we have found ourselves in.
It would be wrong of me to pretend I have a full grasp on what most of the lyrical content is trying to say, though I can say the minute and half of ‘Team Building’ vocalises a mundanity of day-to-day office work in a way that speaks to me.
The album is released on Breakfast Records on 23rd October and is more than worth your time. It’s at times chaotic and unapologetically outlandish, but that only adds to its intrigue. The band had been selling out live shows in Bristol before the album came along, but these recordings are my first exposure and they feel like songs that deserve to be heard in a cramped space full of people. I look forward to learning all the words and shouting them back in one of those crowded rooms as soon as I’m allowed again.
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Silent Radio Editor-in-chief. Watching excellently crafted live music is one of the great pleasures I get to enjoy. Having too often seen excellent bands fail to garner the attention I believe they deserve, I'm here to spread the good word of the under-appreciated musical performer. I encourage everyone who is reading this to do the same. Get in touch if you'd like to do that here.
