Slim Twig – ‘A Hound At The Hem’

The Canadian musician's overlooked, lysergic album gets a light shone on it by DFA re-release

From Ty Segall to Ariel Pink, there’s currently no shortage of garage-pop auteurs. Yet few are as outwardly as ambitious as Slim Twig. The Canadian actor and musician self-released this album in 2012, but hardly anyone heard it. Now out on DFA, it’s a compact treat, its lysergic gems sweetened by strings right out of Gainsbourg’s 1971 concept album ‘Histoire De Melody Nelson’ (a major Twig touchstone). Though it’s all a little too in thrall to its influences, there are some sensational moments here, including ‘Heavy Splendour’, a baroque epic that comes on like Liars tackling The Beach Boys’ ‘Smile’, and ‘All This Wanting’, which could be Kelley Stoltz produced by The Fiery Furnaces. If ‘A Hound At The Hem’ isn’t quite a masterpiece, it at least suggests Slim Twig might just have one in him.

Tom Pinnock

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