Band: VENUS TWINS
Genres: Punk / Rock / Noise Rock / Drums And Bass / Grunge / Experimental
Genres: Punk / Rock / Noise Rock / Drums And Bass / Grunge / Experimental
Related artists: ?.
Country: Brooklyn, New York U.S.A.
Years Active: 2019-present
For fans of: Death From Above, Big Dick, Lightning Bolt, Primus, Hella, Blue Youth, Drive Like Jehu, McClusky, Meth And Goats, and Raw Grip.
Country: Brooklyn, New York U.S.A.
Years Active: 2019-present
For fans of: Death From Above, Big Dick, Lightning Bolt, Primus, Hella, Blue Youth, Drive Like Jehu, McClusky, Meth And Goats, and Raw Grip.
Label(s): Tomb Tree Tapes / Softseed Music
When Tomb Tree started off and I was combing through bands to ask about releases I came across VENUS TWINS, a two-piece from Brooklyn, New York consisting of twin brothers on drums and bass/vocals. I picked up 'Eat Your Dogs' as the 22nd release for the label and put out a small run of 30 tapes. This album was preceded by the 'Kickass' EP released a year before (2019) and was followed by the brand new 'RAXIS' album in October of 2022 which ended up on Softseed Music on about 80 swirl cassettes. The duos dark, groovy, noise rock will surely turn heads of anyone who even remotely enjoys the stylings of bands such as Death From Above, Raw Grip, and Big Dick.
In December of 2019 the two-piece released 'Kickass', which is a bit of a different beast, with a heavier Primus vibe than the later stuff, especially in the vocal-department. There's still the signature VENUS TWINS sound but it's just a bit muddled. Opener "Addiction" is has a yelly tail-end, "DOOM//CRUCIFY" has a cavernous chorus, and closer "Vile" is pretty aggressive, but otherwise I find myself wanting to listen to the new two albums instead.
Released just 9 months later was 'Eat Your Dogs', a much more mature and organic-sounding release housing 8 tracks book-ended by the most obvious bangers. This release shows the band finding their groove and expanding/evolving their sound outward from it. Opener "Fkn Lightning" is exactly what the title states, blasting through 1:19 of fantastic bass-driven noise-rock with a nice, jazzy midsection that leads seamlessly into the mindfuckery that leads this song out. Seriously that's one helluva jam. The following seven songs are very good noise-rock/punk jams with some experimental and wonky sections from time to time and generally heavier vocals (to the point of screaming), but hot damn that opener is perfection. Closer "Spiders" is also a favourite of mine, mainly due to the infectious instrumentals that wreak havoc all over this track, and after listening to the 2022 album this definitely has 'RAXIS' feels all over it. Much jammier, yelly vocals more than screamed and a groove that sweeps the listener through the track with ease, it's the perfect lead into the next paragraph!
2022's 'RAXIS' showcases much of what was explored 'Eat Your Dogs', but simultaneously refines and experiments aggressively outward. It's a strange contradiction that somehow plays out to a real-life "double plus good", as it gives the band a serious handle on their song structure and those ear-worm riffs, while also giving them infinite room to expand and dabble in new/weird/awesome things. Opener "Falling On My Own Sword" thrusts this juxtaposition on the listener immediately as the waves of bass wash over the speakers and the song shifts from awkward, disjointed lurches to a super groovy midsection adorned with a stop/starts and isolated, shouted vocals. Next up is the absolutely phenomenal "Return To Dust". Cripes I could write a paragraph just on this song, but I'll try to keep it short. This jam has three sections that are fucking righteous, the first being the ridiculously catchy bass riff that injects two piercing notes which are like the scrumptious fishing hooks of all-time. Get a taste of this during it's first run at 1:10. The second thing that this song excels at is the vocals, as they hop, skip, and jump through the verses and fully wrap around the listener come chorus time with a very easy to remember "six six six six six seven, six six six six six six". Wonderful vocal delivery. Awesome cadence. Then there's the jolting tail-end that has the lone vocal line of "incarcerated!" during a freeze and it's subsequent explosion of danceable garage/noise-rock. Easily in my top 3 songs of 2022.
Oh shit there's still a lot to go over, so I'll actually try and condense my thoughts. "Don't Take Fix (You Are a Skeleton)" and "Sees Recneps" take a closer step toward dark, sludgy, experimental rock, while "Agony Sludge Infinite" sees the band heading directly into the unknown. "God's Machines" is a whopping 10:28 in length and contains no filler, this sucker just goes for 10 fucking minutes. Closer "In A Smashed Mirror" is similar but clocks in at 6:43, is much more eerie and kinda unravels at the end. The remaining tracks are my other faves and include the frantic and very Lightning Bolt-esque "Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist" (music video embedded below!), the infectious/prodigious groove that is "ANGEL32:35", and that palm-muted banger also known as "Light Catches the Rats".
The band's 'RAXIS' tour started just two days back and has a bunch more shows coming up so check this video to see if they're playing near you! Hard recommend, VENUS TWINS are amazing!!!
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DISCOGRAPHY
2019 - Kickass digital EP (stream/buy here)
2020 - Eat Your Dogs cassette EP (stream/donate/download here) [buy tapes from Tomb Tree here]
2022 - RAXIS cassette LP (stream/donate/download here) [buy tapes from Softseed here]
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(2022) VENUS TWINS - "Return To Dust" (from 'RAXIS')
(2022) VENUS TWINS - "Light Catches the Rats" (from 'RAXIS')
(2022) VENUS TWINS - "Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist Mist" (from 'RAXIS') official music video
(2020) VENUS TWINS - "Fkn Lightning" (from 'Eat Your Dogs') official music video
(2020) VENUS TWINS - "Spiders" (from 'Eat Your Dogs')https://youtu.be/Rokad2ef5pU
(2020) VENUS TWINS - "Veins" (from 'Eat Your Dogs') official music video
(2019) VENUS TWINS - "Vile" (from 'Kickass')
https://youtu.be/oq52Dh963KU
https://youtu.be/oq52Dh963KU
(2019) VENUS TWINS - "Doom//Crucify" (from 'Kickass')
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VENUS TWINS additional links
"Return To Dust" livehttps://youtu.be/5HqO3dTKG6k
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ReplyDeletehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/50ri5ymwayxmklp/Hiretsukan.zip/file