Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from The Twin Doors.
The Twin Doors are August Mårtensson (vocals), Jonas Brantryd (guitar), Kiko Sjöberg (keys), John Conlon (bass) and Albin Samuelsson (drums). They formed in early 2021 and are a diverse collection of ages and influences, resulting in a unique sound. The single, The Hero and The Villain, resembles a conversation with a stranger and all of the twists and turns that the conversation may take.
The Hero and the Villain comes straight in with a full band sound and a really positive 80s-sounding vibe. The vocals are clear and have just a touch of gravel to them, reminding us in places of Paul Weller.
There is some excellent use of panning in this song, especially the panned guitar in certain sections. The rise and fall within the track is truly dynamic and our interest was well and truly maintained for the entirety of the song: there is a particularly cool section that drops down and is more bass-led before building into a huge burst to a different section.
The layered vocals in the chorus are a great touch and make for a huge sound and a memorable sing-along section. The 16-beat tambourine use in the solo and other sections later in the track is positively inspired and this tiny little touch shows that the band are dedicated to ensuring that their studio sound is attention-grabbing from start to finish.
The synthy solo instrumentation is exciting to listen to and we particularly loved the repeated chorus to the end with lots of extra vocals and another build that led to an unexpected cliffhanger of a chord at the end. We hit replay straight away!
Ideas from our ears
A boost right at 160Hz would fill a slight sonic gap there, giving the low end a little extra thickness. The top snare mic is a little resonant at around 200Hz so a careful cut here would help keep it under control. A wider boost around 8kHz with maybe an additional high shelf boost at around 10kHz would add extra brightness and presence overall. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
The Twin Doors were a new name to us today, but this track, The Hero and the Villain is truly superb. A great listen: creative, well-written and well-performed. Check out their Wet Leg cover as well!
https://www.facebook.com/the.twin.doors
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ZPPV3QoQmWJiji8q9RmnJ?si=PVTzlI1RQqi8ajUZ4cy0Zg
https://soundcloud.com/thetwindoors
https://www.youtube.com/@thetwindoors9350/videos
https://www.instagram.com/the.twin.doors/
https://www.tiktok.com/@thetwindoors