Lower Dens – Twin Hand Movement

Lower Dens - Twin Hand Movement

Known for her introspective, atmospheric music, Jana Hunter’s previous output has erred on the side of the experimental. Hunter’s latest endeavour, Lower Dens, sees her stepping out of her usual solitude and in to a band scenario, adding pop sensibilities and moving towards a more electrified sound. While the songs on Twin Hand Movement are certainly more traditional than those previously produced by Hunter they hardly follow the typical format of verses and choruses, instead each track seems like a continuous flowing piece, made coherent by an underlying melody or rhythm.

While many albums, especially in the pop world, are successful as a result of a selection of great tracks, Twin Hand Movement creates an atmosphere, with no song seeming more important than any other yet perfectly complementing (and being complemented by) the tracks either side of it.

That said, each track does have a distinct sound. Opening with the indie folk atmospherics of ‘Blue and Silver’, the track shows the fragility of Hunter’s vocals and sets the tone for the rest of the album, with reverb coated guitars and a gentle hi-hat driven beat giving the song a gentle, dreamlike quality.

Elsewhere the album features everything from ambient, droning strings to tambourine rhythms, with instrumental tracks including ‘Holy Water’ taking on an almost jam-like format, with repeating themes seemingly spawning new ideas and sounds. ‘Rosie’ on the other hand has a far more traditional style, with clean guitar arpeggios giving way to new wave style drums and gliding guitar lines.

With so many artists seemingly aiming to have that one hit song, the one song that will get played on the radio and launch them to stardom, it’s refreshing to hear an album that feels complete. In creating Twin Hand Movement, Lower Dens have created a solid piece of work, forming just over 20 minutes of music that flows and inspires, rather than 12 individual tracks. With the album’s style in mind, Twin Hand Movement deserves to be listened to as one, and while it’s entirely possible to flick from track to track and enjoy each song on its own, it would be a shame to lose the mood that Lower Dens have so carefully crafted.

If you’re after pop hits or something you can dance to then move along, but if you’re after real atmosphere then Twin Hand Movement could soon become your favourite record.

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