Jo D’Arc first came to my attention as the beautiful bass player with the Girobabies, having seen this brilliant band many many times over the years, it was at the ReAct benefit gig in Edinburgh back in January this year. Jo gave a solo performance of experimental art noise. Now this was right up Divine’s street. Hmmm I thought, now this lady has talent. Fast forward to The Barrowland/ Yellowland musical adventure. The Twistettes were the first band on the bill of delights. Joined by her sister Nikki on drums and backing vocals, Jo completed the duo with her bass lead vocals. This sibling couple unleashed a set that had Divine pogoing like he was 19 not 49. Drum’n’ Bass delivered with all the flavors that immediately brought comparisons with Blondie, the Stranglers and The Cramps. Obvious influences performed with Drums and Bass only. Now The Twistettes also draw similarities with The White Stripes. What The White Stripes lack is the true Punk Rock ethic. Oh Aye, The Twistettes gained a loyal fan in Divine that night. Live, they are fucking ace.
When the editor at mission control of The Mumble gave me the joyful task of reviewing The Twistettes new long player I jumped at the chance. What a brilliant work of art it is, the whole album gave me the thrill that I got when I first heard Off The Bone by The Cramps. Jilt To The Jive is immediate ear candy that excites as much as the bands brilliant live performance. Raw Punk Rock Power that will get any party off to a good start. Organic meaty with fantastic vocal performances by Jo. Every track on this Album could be a successful single. I couldn’t give a verdict on the best track. Because the album needs to be heard as a whole. The Twistettes have created the future of popular music. Mark my words, Dark sisters are going to be massive. The album launch is at Stereo in Glasgow on The 23rd Of April. This will be an intimate gig, Divine guarantees a quality night. Come on down and see why I am so enthused by such brilliant muse. the Girobabies will also be performing on the night. the anticipation grows.
The Mumble – So where did you record the album & how long did it takeJo – We recorded in LoFi Studio in Glasgow with Robbie Gunn AKA Sundogs. The studio was great, a load of really nice gear, lots of space and a pretty cool relaxed vibe. We recorded the full album all in one day though so not much time to do any chilling! Robbie was brilliant to work with. i think it really helped that we had a similar outlook on how to approach the album for our sound. No messing about, keep it nice and raw and trying to capture as much of the live noise as possible.The Mumble –Which of the songs are the most important to you personally as a songwriterJo – Ahh, not sure I can answer this! They’re all important in different ways to me. The songs range from being about society, politics, being a woman in society, life, love, sex and friendships. All of these are mega important to me. It was just whatever came out the day i ended up writing that song i suppose!The Mumble – where can you get the album
Jo – You can order either a digital download or physical CD . We’re currently looking into vinyl as well!! The album will be out on 23rd April but you can pre-order here as well so that you will automatically receive your download/CD on release.
We’ll also be selling them at our album launch on 23rd April @ Nice and Sleazy’s where we will be supported by The Girobabies and all our forthcoming gigs this summer.
The Mumble – Does this album mark the end of a chapter, has it encapsulated what the Twistettes are all about for now, or are you already moving onto new material
Jo – I think it encapsulates what we’re all about in general as people. I’d say that’s why we both feel so at home in The Twistettes. Previous bands we have been in have been about trying to sound like this or that’ but with The Twistettes we’re just enjoying making noise together.
We’ve already got the bones of around 6 tunes for the next album. You never know how things are going to turn out but I think it will keep the same essence though some different approaches chucked in there as well. Being sisters we’ve been playing together for so long that we have endless jams and bits of songs to play about with as well as creating new material so its a great time for us rehearsal wise just now. It’s actually a lot of the fun making tunes that were written years ago sound like The Twistettes…which can be amazing, awful, hilarious or some strange place inbetween!
The Mumble – Where will the Twistettes be playing this summer
Jo –So far confirmed is:
23rd April – JILT THE JIVE LAUNCH NIGHT, Nice and Sleazy’s, Glasgow
29th April – Girls On Top Festival, Edinburgh
30th April – Deoch an Dorus Festival, Arran
7th May – Surf Shack, Perth
14th May – Lockerbie Festival, Lockerbie
22nd-25th July – Audiosoup Festival, East Lothian
29th-30th July – Mugstock Festival, Mugdoch Country Park
6th August – Project A Frame Festival, Ayrshire
With a load of others in the pipeline TBC as well
The Mumble –what are, for you, the album’s singles – the stand-out songs
Again this is hard but I really like ‘is this it’. I wasn’t sure how that one would work recorded cause its pretty relentless live and sometimes that doesn’t transfer on tape but i was really surprised! I’m also really happy with ‘suck it fake it’ again cause we managed to capture more of its grittiness than i expected. on a different note, I’m also happy with ‘lamppost light’. I naturally have a tendency to write slightly cheesy stuff (melodic I’d say but aye…hehe) and Nicky always usually veto’s them but this one sneaked through! She actually says she quite likes the recorded version which is cool.
Mumble Music 