Album of the Week: Nervous Twitch – Nervous Twitch (Reckless Yes)
Leeds-based three-piece Nervous Twitch release their self-titled fourth album on independent label Reckless Yes – packed with blasts of surf-rock and synth-pop riffs to make for a fun and feisty record with old-school touches but a very fresh sound.
Artist: Nervous Twitch
Album: Nervous Twitch
Label: Reckless Yes
Released: 29 January 2021
Find it: Bandcamp | Spotify
Stalwarts of the DIY scene Leeds-based trio Nervous Twitch has returned with their self-titled fourth album – and it might just be their best record yet.
Following on from their previous long players – 2015’s Get Back In Line, 2016’s Don’t Take My TV and 2017’s I Won’t Hide all released via Odd Box Records – the band has taken time to the build toward this self-titled release and the space invites reflection on how this band has rounded out their sound, and started to explore further.
Full of a surf-rock and synth-pop blend of punk and ’60s girl group that fans of Nervous Twitch will instantly recognise there is still variety across the record, with different aspects of this sound surfaced. It’s this wide range of influences subtly woven through which means this is far from paint-by-numbers punk (in the broadest sense of the genre) and something really quite delightful and fun.
The singles (Keeping Faith In Something, Tongue Tied, and Alright Lads) gave us a good taste of the full album – energetic rock n roll, which sparkles with a tone of alluring naivety set against adept musicality. There’s more synth across this record than previous releases and it edges off the punk sound nicely – playful at times, and giving further energy beyond the genre-standard guitar.
For a band which has steadily worked away at their craft over the last 10 years, and who embody the best of punk as a creative ethos this self-titled album stands as tall among their catalogue, consistently strong throughout, and feeling fresh while drawing on well-established and much-referenced influences. Perhaps their strongest work yet, and certainly bringing the joy of music to the fore at a time when we all need to feel that, don’t loose out by letting this band’s natural modesty mean they pass you by.
The self-titled fourth album from Nervous Twitch is out now on vinyl, CD and digitally via Reckless Yes.
Find Nervous Twitch: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
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We took a hiatus at the end of 2020 but put together a list of our Top 40 albums from the year – check it out here.
Disclosure: Sarah Lay is editor of Popoptica and co-founder of Reckless Yes, so has some involvement in the release of this record – but she really does only write about or work on music she loves.
Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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