An electric keys duo that defies simple genre categorization. Their songs are âpopâ in formâshort, direct, hook-ladenâbut harmonized in the dissonance of modern classical music and rhythmically propelled by a unique hammer/scamper nonsensibility.

13 MP3 Songs
POP: with Live-band Production, CLASSICAL: Orchestral



Details:
Why Twist the Hair is a Boston based electric keys duo that defies simple genre categorization. Their songs are âpopâ in formâshort, direct, hook-ladenâbut harmonized in the dissonance of modern classical music and rhythmically propelled by a unique hammer/scamper nonsensibility. Their general aesthetic is solid, yet unnervingly transgressive.

Their debut album âHealthy Skinâ is very much a product of this approach. Each song is representative of Why Twist the Hairâs core live configuration of electric piano (Nick Pastel), drums (Peter Allen) and vocals, but expanded with new arrangements to include a woodwind quintet, bass, and a host of alternative keyboard instruments. The flexibility of recording has allowed Why Twist the Hair to realize their songs to an as yet unheard depth of nuance.

The topics of âHealthy Skinâ range from petty roommate disputes and skin rash to bed bug paranoia, deracination, eating disorders, and a Boston-local ballsack artist. The subjects are approached sometimes with elation, sometimes disgust, but whether the approach in general is wholly honest or ironic is undecided. The joke that is âMicroderm Abrasionâ is likewise a terrifying perception of bodily dysfunction. The earnest narrative of âBelle Wetherâ is kind of silly. The seriousness of âHealthy Skinâ itself is in the jokes we all tell ourselves in the face of dissolution as âWalking Muscles.â

Between alternating bursts of confidence and ambivalence, the humorous and the horrifying, âHealthy Skinâ makes for a powerful experience.

Accessible but âout,â Why Twist the Hair has garnered praise from hipsters and housewives, idiots and the intelligentsia alike. âHealthy Skin,â the next step for this important band, is sure to confound and excite its listeners.

POST SCRIPT: If coerced, Why Twist the Hair would cite influences such as: Deerhoof, Aphex Twin, Jon Brion, and Thelonius Monk.