There are some people who can’t get past the name. Narc Twain. A simple play off the name of the celebrated author. But it might be a re-imagining of history for the band who go by the name. In the past of their dystopian future, could that celebrated jumping frog competition in Calaveras County have really been a ruse to catch people gambling illegally? Well, no matter the case, from my perspective, the band’s name is clever and fun. But I have to confess I posted on my blog ‘Felonious Monk’ for several years.
Narc Twain is a project from Jukebox the Ghost/Drunken Sufis singer/guitarist Tommy Siegel along with drummer/producer John Thayer, guitarist Aaron Leeder, keyboardist/backup vocalist Dave Cohen and bassist Brett Niederman. The band’s debut self-titled EP (streaming below) was released earlier this month and celebrated with a release show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Without a physical release, the merch table consisted of posters and homemade t-shirts that included downloads of the album.
The brief show was a lively and energizing — not shoegazey in the way post-apocalyptic lyrics could have been. Siegel took some inspiration from the poetry of Jeremy Schmall’s book Cult of Comfort which “oiced a paranoia and cynicism dealing with 21st century hyper-capitalism that already fills a lot of my waking thoughts” as he told Paste recently. Going into the show, I wasn’t familiar with the EP, just the conversation and a bit behind the making of it, but from hearing the nine or so songs they performed, I definitely walked away having enjoyed the show. At least one of the highlights for me, the second track in the set (“Clock” I think), isn’t even on the EP, so I’m curious to see what else the band has up their sleeve. While Narc Twain’s music has a garage/punk quality overall, near the end the band busted out into an unexpectedly lengthy jam called “No Connection” that possessed psychedelic qualities and was another one of the highlights.
Narc Twain take the stage in Brooklyn at Bar Matchless tonight (12/17) alongside Jesse Dylan & The Scaredy Cats, a band featuring Siegal’s Jukebox bandmate Jesse Kristin. Details can be found here.
