Will Toledo was 19 when the first Twin Fantasy was released. Back then, he was an aspiring musician and poet. The entire thing was reportedly recorded on a “cheap laptop” and was never completed. The lo-fi warmth and Toledo’s raw lyrics spoke to an audience of faded millennials struggling with their own teen experience.
Now re-released in full, the cover and song titles are the same – so what’s different? A cleaner sound, of course. Toledo’s voice is front and centre, now awash with nostalgia. He sings of past relationships, past sex, past scrapes and bruises now healed, maybe. ‘Cute Thing’ was made for this studio makeover as the drum stomps and guitar licks sound finally alive. ‘Stop Smoking’ still urges you to quit the habit but now in crystal clear stereo. The epic ‘Beach Life-In-Death’ could’ve fit tightly in 2016’s Teens of Denial.
Not every song, however, really needed to be revisited. Cuts like ‘Sober To Death’ or ‘Bodys’ benefit from their demo origins. They sound more wild and uncomfortable, just as Toledo was when he wrote them.
How sweet it is to go back and mend the past.
8/10
