One of the more (un?)surprising things about Twin Peaks is that they’re at their best when they’re being spontaneous. Sweet ’17 Singles turned into one of their most inspired collection of songs, and it was recorded off the cuff in disparate sessions throughout a calendar year. The new EP, Side A, shares a similar feeling of spontaneity, written and partially recorded in quarantine throughout the first half of 2020. It is, without question, one of the most potent distillations of what makes Twin Peaks such an unflappably great band: four songs, four different songwriters, four distinct sonic directions, that somehow manage to pack more punch when consumed together. There’s the hi-wire rock ‘n’ roll of Clay’s opener “What’s The Matter,” the pensive, gauzy, sax-adorned comedown of Jack’s “Whistle in the Wind (End of Everything),” the timeless, Harrison-esque guitar blissout of Colin’s “Any More Than You Want,” and the krautrock vision quest of Cadien’s EP-closer “Above/Below.” All the while, Connor’s work behind the kit grounds each tune exactly where it needs to be on Side A’s course. Look, we’re the label, but when we say this is peak Twin Peaks, we’re not making it up.

Today the whole EP is available to hear everywhere. As we mentioned before, 10″s are coming in the fall (available for pre-order here). But to celebrate the digital release, the boys enlisted longtime collaborators Weird Life Films to memorialize “Whistle in the Wind” with a music video.

“I came to writing this song around the same time my girlfriend had tested positive for the antibody test, meaning we had seemingly both contracted the virus early in quarantine,” says bassist Jack Dolan. “I remember having a false sense of security because of that, hopeful in what it meant for us. Are we safe now? Did we really just live through and survive something like this? Is life normal for us now? That brief moment ended up preceding so much more than we could’ve expected and this ‘impenetrable’ feeling I had then has since faded. It’s about coming to terms with a ‘new’ normal. The vulnerability it takes to stand up for the people around us, the soul searching and perspective it takes to honestly make sense of the current moment that will continue to  evolve with or without you. It’s about breaking free from the safety of your own comfort zone and being honest with yourself about where you stand right now. We all need to take care of ourselves and each other more than ever, just don’t give up on the moment.”

And, not to be distracted from the moment at hand, the band has also pledged to donate 100% of profits on their Blotter L/S tee to Brave Space Alliance, a Black and Trans led LGBTQ Center on the south side of Chicago. The move is part of their recently-launched monthly initiative to direct all profits from a specific item in their online store to a new NPO worth supporting in their community and beyond. We’re proud of the music, but even more proud of the humans in this band. Please support if you’re able.

This just in from Twin Peaks Dudes HQ, four new songs exist(!) and they’re coming on a limited edition 10″ this fall. In the meantime, you can hear “What’s The Matter” today anywhere you stream music, or get all four songs if you pre-order the vinyl. Vinyl is shipping in early October, but the digital EP will be available everywhere on July 3rd.

Additionally, all proceeds from the sale of their new tee will be going to Black Lives Matter Chicago as part of the band’s pledge to support an organization fighting for racial justice each month.

The band puts it all best themselves in a note they put out this morning:

Today Twin Peaks unveil the music video for “Unfamiliar Sun,” a fan favorite from this year’s Lookout Low. The song is about navigating life while struggling with depression. Incredibly relatable. Its accompanying video, directed and illustrated by Wyatt Grant, pairs the band with colorful images displayed via a low-tech projector.

“It’s about trying to find beauty and love in the day to day, week to week, season to season in an otherwise ugly world,” says bassist Jack Dolan, who wrote the song. “Still, it’s meant to be hopeful. Nobody is or should ever feel truly alone. I want to thank Wyatt Grant for helping me visualize this song with his wonderful artwork and his genuine understanding of the messages this song attempts to convey. I would also like to thank the entire Weird Life Films Crew for once again delivering a beautiful finished product and for helping us organize and execute this little project. The world could always use more empathy, don’t be afraid to reach out to somebody you love.”

Additionally, the band announces that following their spring headlining tour, they will support Car Seat Headrest on the road later this summer (tickets are on sale Friday, Feb. 28th at 10am local time – check the artist page here). Then, they’ll return to Chicago’s Union Park to play Pitchfork Music Festival for the third time!

Preceding their North American tour later this spring, Twin Peaks – “one of Chicago’s most essential live acts” (GQ) – present two new singles/lyric videos, “Cawfee” and “St. Vulgar St.” Following their most recent album, Lookout Low, the two tracks are available digitally today and as a limited 7” on February 14th. All profits from the 7” purchased from the band’s webstore will be donated to WIRES to support rescue efforts for wildlife impacted by the Australian bush fires.

The band recorded the tracks in their studio with Andrew Humphrey at Treehouse Records in Chicago. “St. Vulgar St.” opens with dulcet guitar and staccato percussion, and “is inspired a bit by the Martin Bell movie Streetwise,” says Clay Frankel. “Cawfee”  is introspective, and features bright keyboard and anthemic guitar. “For ‘Cawfee,’ I’d like to shout out my good buddy Andre Baptista, who helped with lyrics in a little backstage room in Milwaukee. Enjoy.”  Both accompanying lyric videos feature James Swanberg.

“The accompanying lyric videos were a rather last minute idea meant to answer the question ‘is there any way for a lyric video to not be dumb?’” says Cadien Lake James. “Lyric videos are funny because they ride this weird line where if it’s too simple, say text on a screen, it’s boring, but it’s not meant to be too nice — the stakes are meant to be lower. Our friend James Swanberg is an incredible performer and a scene figure, and it occurred to us it might be funny to have him try to karaoke the songs without really knowing them. He did great!”

The “Cawfee” b/w “St. Vulgar St.” 7” is available for pre-order exclusively via the band’s webstore and Bandcamp. 

Today Twin Peaks share a new standalone single, “Our World.” The track comes only a day after our boys kicked off their North American tour (tickets here) and follows the “intimate country-soul” (Chicago Tribune) of Lookout Low, their new album released earlier this year via Grand Jury (available in our shop). “Our World,” a song born of the same sessions as Lookout,  is uplifting and melodic, and rich with warm guitar. Cadien Lake James explains further:

“One day last year amidst some moment of (the constant) political turmoil or another, I read a tweet Connor posted encouraging all that despite the current state of affairs, ‘it’s still our world.’ I wrote the lyrics for ‘Our World’ directly after. Despite not fitting into the sequence of Lookout Low, it’s one of our favorites we recorded and we’re happy to share it now.”

It’s been a pretty sentimental few weeks around these parts.

Just last month we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the first record we ever released at Grand Jury: Twin Peaks’ Wild Onion. And today we have the distinct honor of releasing the latest from the very first band we ever worked with. Lookout Low is a treasure — ten songs, tracked live in Wales earlier this year with the incomparable Ethan Johns, showcasing a band at their absolute peak. We’ve teased a few singles, but this is a record’s record, so block out some time and listen front to back right now. Or one better? Hit your local record store and snag a copy on vinyl — we’ve got them on electric blue in Chicago, orange swirl at the indies around the US, or a trusty black from anywhere else.

To celebrate the release, our boys also just dropped a new music video for “Oh Mama,” the most relentless and rambunctious tune on the new record. The video, which you can watch above, was directed by Alec Basse & Max Moore.

Last night was the first live show in support of the record. It kind of hurts that we weren’t there, but there’ll be plenty of opportunities for us (and everyone else) to catch Twin Peaks all over the globe this year and next.

Run it again.

Today we release the second single from Twin Peaks‘  forthcoming Lookout Low (coming 9/13!). It’s called “Ferry Song,” and it’s a huge leap forward for resident Peaks wunderkind Colin Croom. He wrote the track in Spring of 2018 in New Orleans, staying at Algiers Point and taking the ferry to the city each day. The official audio upload on YouTube is built from archival footage shot in New Orleans in the 60s. This one waltzes with guitar and ramshackle brass, and Colin finds a part of his vocal range he’s only hinted at before. But that’s enough from us. Just press play above. 

And a reminder: you can pre-order the album in our shop right now or snag tickets to the band’s upcoming tour over on the artist page.

We are elated to announce Twin Peaks’ new album, Lookout Low, due September 13th via Grand Jury. Where their last LP, 2016’s Down In Heaven, and 2017’s Sweet ‘17 Singles compilation were adventurous and compelling updates on their youthfully raucous formula, their fourth album, Lookout Low feels like a total revolution. Their most deliberate and seamless record yet, the album is a collaborative triumph, propelled forward by Twin Peak’s near-decade-long bond. 

For Lookout Low, the five of them – guitarists Cadien Lake James and Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan, multi-instrumentalist Colin Croom, and drummer Connor Brodner – committed to work countless hours in their studio and practice space. Meeting daily, they demoed 27 songs and relentlessly rehearsed them, eventually whittling down to a select ten tracks. The album was recorded at Monnow Valley with legendary producer Ethan Johns (Paul McCartney, U2, Kings of Leon), who lauds Twin Peaks as “the best Rock and Roll band I’ve heard for a very long time.” Already a well-oiled live unit, the band’s mission was to capture the exhilarating vibe of their shows. Often, they thrived on the thrill of live recording, going with the magic of the original first take. This life-affirming burst of adrenaline seeps into every facet of the LP. 

Each individual member of the band upped their songwriting for the LP. These tracks are their most impressive offering yet – confident, experimentative, and bursting with energy. Throughout, Croom wrote horn arrangements that at times evoke the soulfulness of Allen Toussaint and the burly Americana of the E Street Band. The auxiliary percussion from drummer Kyle Davis expands the already breezy and expansive compositions. OHMME’s Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham contribute their spectral harmonies on seven of the 10 tracks.

Lead single / video “Dance Through It,” a horn-infused, soul-inflected swing, champions the energy found across the album. The video was directed by Ariel Fisher and Léo Schrepel in Berlin. “Writing and arranging ‘Dance Through It’ felt like a dive into and embrace of experimenting with a new palette for us,” says James. “After having been directly involved in the creation and direction of all of our videos, it felt fitting to allow this song the breath of collaboration in having Ariel Fisher take the helm and run with it.”

“Working with Twin Peaks on this visual concept felt synergetic,” says Fisher. “We shared a mutual love for the film Fallen Angels and wanted to tell a story where the camera angles and lenses gradually shift as the narrative progresses. We wanted the viewer to become the participant, as we step into the actress’s shoes and begin to see the world as she sees it.” 

In conjunction with today’s announcement, the band expands their North American tour. They will bring their live shows across the states, including to Chicago’s Riviera Theatre (the band’s biggest hometown headline show to date), Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, and New York’s Webster Hall, in addition to dual shows at Nashville’s Basement East, Boston’s The Sinclair, and more. Tickets for newly-announced shows (full itinerary below) are on sale this Friday, July 19th at 10 AM local time, when they’ll be available over on the Twin Peaks artist page. 

Fans can pre-order Lookout Low starting today. The standard version is available over in the GJ shop. Two different exclusive color pressings are available for pre-order via indie record shops. When US fans pre-order at participating stores they’ll get a “Dance Through It” 7″, which features an unreleased song on the B-side, and will be able to return to the point of purchase to pick up Lookout Low on September 13th. The album is available on Orange Swirl LP, pictured above, or on a Chicago-area exclusive Electric Blue LP, pictured below. A full list of participating stores is available here.

The Chicago exclusive version will be available in the following Chicago-area indie retail locations:

Shuga, Reckless, 606 Records, Bric-A-Brac, Pinwheel, Groovin High, Hip Cat, Kiss The Sky, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Mile Long, Oak Park, Old School, Ragged Records & Music, Rattleback, Rediscover & Rolling Stone.

TWIN PEAKS TOUR DATES:
Sun. July 21 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach ~
Tue. July 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Thu. Sept. 12 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre *
Fri. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
Sat. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
Thu. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom *
Fri. Sept. 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe *
Sat. Sept. 21 – East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt *
Tue. Oct. 8 – Berlin, DE @ Musik und Frieden &
Wed. Oct. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Musikclub &
Fri. Oct. 11 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown &
Sat. Oct. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Mon. Oct. 14 – Cologne, DE @ MTC &
Tue. Oct. 15 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire &
Wed. Oct. 16 – London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park &
Fri. Oct. 18 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club &
Sat. Oct. 19 – Oxford, UK @ Ritual Union
Sun. Oct. 20 – Cardiff, UK @ SWN Festival
Wed. Oct. 30 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall #
Thu. Oct. 31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room #
Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room #
Sat. Nov. 2 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre #
Tue. Nov. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall #
Thu. Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos #
Fri. Nov. 8 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom #
Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub #
Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall #
Fri. Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom @
Sat. Nov. 16 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern #
Mon. Nov. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom #
Thu. Nov. 21 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. #
Fri. Nov. 22 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar #
Sat. Nov. 23 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk #
Fri. Nov. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
Wed. Dec. 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom ^
Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (early) @
Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (late) !
Fri. Dec. 6 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^
Tue. Dec. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
Wed. Dec. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^
Thu. Dec. 12 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
Fri. Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse ^
Sat. Dec. 14 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^
Sun. Dec. 15 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^

~ = w/ PUP
* = w/ Slow Pulp and Dehd
& = w/ Dehd
# = w/ Post Animal & OHMME
^ = w/ Lala Lala & OHMME
! = w/ Lala Lala
@ = w/ OHMME

This just in: Twin Peaks have announced a handful of dates across the globe for later this fall. We’ll have much more news to share soon, but in the meantime these calendar additions are going to have to tide you over. Tickets available later this week here.

Hard to believe, but it’s almost been a full year since the release of Sweet ’17 Singles, the 12″ compilation of every pair of bangers Twin Peaks released throughout the back half of 2017. To celebrate, we went and pressed the thing on colored vinyl. There are two gorgeous options – one on opaque white via our friends in Chicago at Shuga Records, and one in transparent swimming pool blue which you can snag in our shop or direct from the Peaks boys themselves. Both versions are out February 8th!