New Music Reviews: Twisted Teens and Shearwater

I guess if today’s two bands joined forces, they could be Texan Twisted Terns?

Twisted Teens

Florida Water Blues

2026, 7.5/10
New Orleans cowpunk band Twisted Teens are one of the indie it bands of 2026. They’ve already released two studio albums this year, with a third due soon, and they’ve recently signed with Sub Pop. The label cowpunk is usually reserved for 1980s groups like Lone Justice and Social Distortion, but it makes sense for the raw-edged, country-tinged collective.

Twisted Teens are centred around vocalist Caspian Halliwell and lap steel player RJ Santos. Halliwell’s vocals are agreeably raw and passionate, and he’s a compelling, likeable frontman. He’s also a fascinating interviewee:

The guy that made the most money during the gold rush was the guy selling pickaxes, you know? It’s wild these guitar players, I’ve been seeing them at gigs for years, this new generation, they literally can’t play a lick and they have like $1,200 worth of pedals in front of them. Take that money, and instead of giving it to a man to make pedals, give it to a man to teach guitar!
Caspian Hollywell, Big Takeover

It’s lovely when they dial down the intensity for ‘Javelina’. Sometimes Hollywell’s vocals tend towards spoken word, making the band sound like The Hold Steady, like on ‘Business’. The earnest, literal title track sounds a little like the Replacements.

I hope you enjoyed this record – I expecting to feature a couple more Twisted Teens records in the next couple of months.

Shearwater

The New World

2026, 8/10
Texan band Shearwater began as a spinoff project from indie band Okkervil River, founded by Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff for the quieter songs they were writing together. Meiburg, who has a master’s degree in geography with a focus on ornithology, took the band’s name from a family of seabirds (which includes The Mutton Birds). Sheff left the band after 2006’s Palo Santo, leaving it as a vehicle for Meiburg.

Meiburg also works as a scientist, and his work bleeds into his art. Field recording of Tasmanian forest ravens feature on “The Only Sound I’m Afraid Of,“ while the coyotes of Highland Park also make an appearance. If you’re looking for a band that recreate the atmospheric Talk Talk sound of Spirit of Eden, you’ll love this. The use of woodwinds, the emotive vocals, and jazzy drumming all recall Talk Talk’s post-rock years.

The moody ‘More and More’ is the closest to Talk Talk. But the suddenly savage guitar outburst on ‘The Only Sound I’m Afraid Of’ is my favourite moment. Laurie Anderson guests on the closing ‘You And Your Dog’, and it sounds like Cassandra Jenkins’ recent records. The single ‘Slugs in the Marigold’ feels a little Beatlesque.