Twin Danger is a new band formed by multi-instrumentalist Stuart Matthewman, best known for his work with Sade and Sweetback, and Vanessa Bley, a member of the alt-rock bank Beast Patrol, and daughter of jazz pianist Paul Bley. The two of them bonded over their diverse musical influences, which included Chet Baker, Black Sabbath and iconic movie soundtracks, and evolved as Matthewman sent Bley some musical ideas that he was working on.
The result is a late night, jazz and blues infused cocktail, mercifully closer to the West Coast cool of Chet Baker and Stan Getz and the sophisticated vibe of Sade, than the doom-laden riffing of Tony Iommi. The desire to produce a ‘noir’ feel was confirmed by singer Vanessa Bley. "We're making music to get lost in,” she revealed. “It's warm and beautiful but there are dark undercurrents revealing fundamental issues of the self. That's what makes it Twin Danger. We like to fit into that category of what you want to play when the lights go down."
The opening track, Pointless Satisfaction, never quite escapes the feel that it might have been a Sade outtake. The tone of Matthewman’s saxophone is beautiful – soft, airy, almost Getz-like - but the song never really finds its own identity. On Coldest Kind Of Heart, the band sounds more convincing. Bley’s sad lyrics and bruised vocal dominate the proceedings, and the song would not sound out of place on a movie soundtrack, which seems to be the style they were looking for. I Love (Loving You) has a more a retro, supper club feel to it. There’s a slightly nasal tone to Bley’s singing which reminds me somewhat of Rickie Lee Jones, and when she sings, “I’ll tell myself, I’ll still get by” on Just Because, this adds to the sense of a ‘little-girl-lost’.
The one occasion when the Black Sabbath influence comes through is on an unexpected cover of No One Knows by the Queens Of The Stone Age, the pace taken out of the song, and the taut guitar riff replaced by spare piano chords to good effect.
There are moments when the album falls a little flat, and one feels that there is more style than substance, but overall this is an impressive debut that works equally well over a Sunday morning coffee as late at night. The band played at SXSW in March, and has been touring in the United States over the last few weeks. No One Knows has just been released as the second single – after the excellent Coldest Kind Of Heart - and should ensure a decent amount or airplay. The singles can be heard on YouTube, and the album itself is scheduled for release in June.
