When Long Island's Twin Sister put a picture of a shabbily decorated dollhouse on the cover of their 2010 Color Your Life EP, it seemed like a mission statement: Here is small, intimate music meant to feel comfy and lived-in. And from the pillowy indie-pop numbers to the more stretched-out, soft drone pieces, it was the kind of record that just felt nice to hear. You wanted to cuddle up with it. But then there was "All Around and Away We Go", the slice-of-genius, introverted disco gem that suggested there was more to these guys than just pretty bedroom pop. In Heaven, their debut LP, very much supports that idea. It's a crisp-sounding, nuanced album that highlights all the right things about the band.
The most obvious difference between In Heaven and Twin Sister's two previous EPs is that they've cleaned up their sound and tightened their arrangements considerably. Where individual sounds sometimes used to get swallowed in an underlying hiss, instruments now have room to breathe. Guitars sparkle, synthetic drumbeats strike with purpose, and singer Andrea Estella's charming vocal squeak is closer to the fore. Increasing the production value is more than just a technical upgrade-- it lets the band open up creatively and try different kinds of new sounds. And they do that with grace. From Stereolab-like lounge-pop to R&B-flecked Young Marble Giants minimalism, these guys run the gamut.
While the sonic palette is definitely a lot wider, Twin Sister still keep the songwriting focus small and detailed. More interested in documenting life's minor moments than the big, transformative ones, they sing about things like recommending movies to friends or having an awkward crush go unspoken. Little stuff, but meaningful in its way. Take "Stop", for example, a track breathily sung by guitarist Eric Cardona and featuring a sultry R&B thump. It reads heavy romance on first listen, but that's actually not the case. "I keep telling myself to stop, to feel if I like it," Cardona sings, describing a new relationship he's trying to be responsible about. It seems he doesn't want to rush into sleeping with this person-- someone's feelings could get hurt that way.
This type of narrative might skew a little twee for some (and there is an element of that here, for sure) but it's one of the things that gives the band a sense of identity. Also, it's important to point out that they buoy these bashful sentiments with some really outward, bouncy music. "Bad Street" is set over choppy 1980s electro-funk, "Daniel" takes its cues from zoned-out space disco-- the songs have legitimate grooves. In the end, what's really impressive is that the mousey quality of their music doesn't work against these nimble, cosmopolitan arrangements. If anything, it makes the songs richer, gives them more of a backstory. Because Twin Sister operate with a good amount of subtlety, it can take some time to absorb all that, but give yourself over to this record, and it gives back.
