“This is bare-bones, old-school rock & roll”: we talked to Twin Peaks’ Clay Frankel about their new album ‘Lookout Low’

Imagine if you could transfer the cosy, familiar feel of your favourite pair of old sneakers into your brand new kicks. Well, that’s exactly what Chicago quintet Twin Peaks does for traditional rock’n’roll.

In 2012, these guys were a bunch of teenagers recording in a basement with an outdated iMac, GarageBand, and a crappy digital mixer. Today, they’ve turned into one of the most hardworking, vibrant live acts in America.

Their energetic, low-fi debut Sunken got them labelled by NME as the “Chicago’s most promising band”, and in little more than six years, they’ve become such stalwarts of the live scene of the city that they were invited to perform at the Cubs’ World Series trophy presentation in 2016.

“When we first started playing we were all digging a lot the stuff, The Black Lips were putting out, you know, Good Bad not Evil.

“Like that was sick and that was like a kind of catalyst for what we were doing, bands like Deerhunter and Girls, we wanted to be just as cool as them,” says Twin Peaks vocalist and guitarist Clay Frankel, talking about their early days.

The evolution of their sound feels like the career of a punk who starts leaning towards more sophistication as he grows older. Yeah, kind of like Paul Weller’s discography.

At first, they were this fiery, freewheeling garage riot ala Fugazi. Over the years the band has expanded their views to adopt a myriad of influences that range from The Rolling Stones to the Stax sound, from John Sebastian to The Doobie Brothers.

This past September 13 they released Lookout Low, their fourth studio album via Grand Jury in North America and Pod/Inertia in Australia. 

“This is bare-bones, old-school rock’n’roll,” says Frankel.

“This one is a little more like mellow I guess, it has a bit of a folk and country vibe to it, a very intentional record yet very raw. Probably the most collaborative thing we’ve done so far, and that’s huge, because all of our records have been pretty collaborative, we all write songs and bring ideas.”

From their very first album, Twin Peaks has worked with the Beatles’ mantra, “if you write it, you sing it”. In that respect, Lookout Low is probably the work that shows all band members at the peak of their songwriting abilities, with tight, clearly structured songs with oftentimes lush arrangements.

Legend has it the band was casually listening to the early records of Kings of Leon when they realised that sound was exactly what they wanted to pursue in their next album. At further inspection, they found out the producer on those early Kings of Leon works was none other than Ethan Johns, revered multi-instrumentalist who had worked with artists like Paul McCartney, Rufus Wainwright, and Tom Jones.

To further seal the deal for Twin Peaks, they found out Johns was the son of record producer and engineer Glyn Johns, who had worked with many of the idols of the band, including The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and The Who. It was a collaboration almost written in the stars.

To their surprise, Johns agreed to produce Lookout Low, but only under one condition: they had to record it live at his studio in Wales. Rough stuff, but for a band moulded by years of constant touring, the challenge was more than appealing.

“Lookout Low is a little different than what we’ve done before, the recording was all done live. The whole band playing in the studio at the same time, track by track. That’s a first for us, we’ve never recorded like that before,” Frankel explains. “It felt like the perfect challenge.”

To minimise studio time, Twin Peaks laid out and exhaustively rehearsed the entire record at their practice space in Chicago before ever setting foot in Wales. They ended up with 15 songs defined up to the last riff, bassline and drum beat. By the time the recording sessions began, the band was so sharp they nailed some of the tracks in the first take.

“At least three songs on the album were first takes,” says Frankel.

We could say that amidst a discography that has proudly waved the flag of low-fi, this is Twin Peak’s most polished album in their career. The sound isn’t quite sparkling perfect like most sugary pop tunes we can stumble across on mainstream radio, and that is precisely the record’s appeal; it oozes with unapologetic energy and is full of tiny sonic imperfections that make it simply delectable.

Lookout Low is an enjoyable listen. Just ten tracks that amount to around 42 minutes that pass like an optimistic breeze.

“I definitely like the album. There’s something crunchy, a little different about this one,” says a proud Frankel.

Lookout Low, Track by Track

The album opens with ‘Casey’s Groove,’ and ‘Laid in Gold’, two inviting tunes that place you right in the thick of the American rock tradition of the late ’70s. ‘Laid in Gold’ in particular has the inclusion of a horn section that takes the song into Motown territory, almost making it feel like something The Style Council could’ve done in their early years.

‘Better than Stoned’ is a simple, charming song reminiscent of The Stones’ ‘Wild Horses’  about that friend or lover that comes into our life at that precise moment when we’re at our worst. 

On the other hand, ‘Unfamiliar Sun’ is a melancholic Wilco-esque tune about struggling with depression and finding love at the end of the tunnel. “I want to thank you for your light in my unforgiving life,” sings bassist Jack Dolan in a wobbly voice.

The first single of the album, ‘Dance Through It,’ is an infectious funky tune spiced with a thick bassline and groovy Wurlitzer melody. A tight composition with tasteful arrangements, this could be the most mature song in the entire catalogue of the band.

The next track on the album is ‘Lookout Low’, with a Southern vibe reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The tune is successfully enhanced by vocals courtesy of Chicago indie act OHMME (Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham).

‘Ferry Song’ is another nostalgic entry inspired in lost love, again boosted by vocal harmonies by OHMME and featuring a heavy presence of horns and piano. The tune immediately brings back memories of late ’70s Americana and could easily fit in a John Sebastian album.

The deliciously raucous ‘Oh Mama’ is probably the song from Lookout Low that most reminds us of the band’s early material, a partly improvised rocker full of strong hooks, energy, and groove. 

The album is capped off by the scruffy, yet dreamy gospel ballad ‘Under A Smile’ and the reflexive and climatic tale of teenage angst titled ‘Sunken II’, which is based on ideas that the band kept in a drawer since their debut album in 2013.

Frankel takes a small pause when we ask him if he thought the band had changed its objectives over the years.

“A lot has changed since we started, but I think the goal has always been the same you know, to try to make a record we’re all proud of.”

In summary, Twin Peaks’ latest album is the strong statement from a mature band that unashamedly mines the past to fuel their future. It’s a well-executed and highly enjoyable re-interpretation of classic rock that will appeal not only to contemporary indie fans but to old-school rockers in love with The Allman Brothers, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival and other representative bands of the ’70s. Have you ever wished for a record that you could play to your parents without causing any generational disputes? Well, this might be it.

Frankel capped off the interview with his description of what is the heart and soul of the band, “The heart and soul of Twin Peaks has always been the same throughout our career, we consider ourselves a good live band, we always try to shine live, that spirit is always there. You know, have a good time and hopefully make people have a good time too,”

Listen to Lookout Low below

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