Slim Twig

Slim Twig

Postcard issued by DFA Records.
Background information
Birth name Max Turnbull
Born 1988 (age 27–28)
Toronto, Canada
Genres Indie/pop rock
Years active 2005–present
Labels Paper Bag Records, Palmist Records, Calico Corp., Pleasence Records, DFA Records
Associated acts Tropics, Archaic Women, Plastic Factory, Darlene Shrugg, U.S. Girls
Website Slim Twig.com

Slim Twig (born Max Turnbull, 1988, Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian songwriter, musician and film actor.

He was born the son of Toronto-based filmmakers, Ross Turnbull and Jennifer Hazel, and graduated from the Claude Watson School of the Arts in 2006.[1][2]

Film work

Slim Twig played 'Billy Zero' in the 2007 film, The Tracey Fragments, directed by Bruce McDonald and starring Ellen Page. Slim was cast as 'Max' in French director Kim Chapiron's film, Dog Pound, set in a juvenile detention centre, and plays the lead character in an independent feature film produced by his parents entitled Sight Unseen, for which he also composed the score.[3][4][5] He has acted in numerous commercial productions and shorts, and scored other films.[6][7] In 2013, he composed the score for the documentary, We Come as Friends, directed by Hubert Sauper.[8]

Music

Paper Bag Records has released two Slim Twig EPs and two, full-length albums. His most recent LP, A Hound at the Hem, was released by his own label, Calico Corp., in conjunction with Pleasence Records.[9] In September, 2014, New York-based DFA Records announced that it is re-releasing A Hound at the Hem.[10]

In addition to Slim Twig-branded music, the artist played guitar and sang in the band, Tropics,[11] with Simone TB on drums. In a review of his early Slim Twig EPs, Pitchfork Media stated that Tropics' music is “a feral take on the Birthday Party's blitzkrieg blues.”[12] Tropics is now defunct, having added members and transformed into Darlene Shrugg.[13] Slim Twig has also formerly pursued a solo project called Archaic Women and played as part of a “psychedelic cover band” called Plastic Factory.[14] In 2009, Tropics released a cassette tape entitled SETTE.[15]

The earliest Slim Twig recordings were self-released in 2005 on a CD entitled Livestock Burn, and an EP, Dissonant Folk.[16] Derelict Dialect was the first Slim Twig EP release from Paper Bag Records, in April, 2008. Prior to that, Slim Twig self-released an EP called Whiite Fantaseee.[17] The songs from that recording (save one) were subsequently re-mastered and issued as Vernacular Violence[18] by Paper Bag Records, in August, 2008. Paper Bag later released its two Slim Twig EPs as a limited edition, vinyl LP album.

In 2009, Paper Bag Records released Contempt!, Slim Twig's first, full-length LP. He states that he created the record largely from found sound and samples set against his own vocals.[19] A NOW magazine review of the album called it “...startlingly unique...”[20] Coinciding with the release of Contempt!, Slim created a free, downloadable “mixtape” EP entitled Spit It Twig! (Vol. 1).[21] Spit it Twig! Vol 2 was issued in the fall of 2009.[22] It was named one of the top downloads of the year by Toronto's alternative weekly magazines.[23][24] The third release in the mixtape series is A Sheik in Scores, issued on cassette and as a download.[25]

Critical reception

Slim Twig has received considerable, occasionally polarized press coverage (in print and on the internet), with much of it recognizing his unusual adventurousness and artistry.[2][12][26][27][28] In 2008, the artist was called “an icon-in-the-making...” and named Toronto's Best Pop/ Rock Artist of the year by Now magazine.[29] In various articles about Slim Twig, well-known popular music artists have been mentioned for comparison purposes, notably including Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Suicide and David Bowie.[30] In a concert review, music columnist Sarah Liss suggested that Slim Twig's music sounds like “...what might happen if you left a bunch of Elvis Presley LPs on a radiator, smashed them to bits with a hammer and re-assembled them for play on a turntable. In a word, otherworldly.”[31] He has on more than one occasion, and in a positive context, been called a "pop weirdo".[32] Of his music, one site suggests that "It is isn't possible to get more post-modern pop than this."[33]

Slim Twig's early interest in experimentation appeared to challenge critics looking to situate him in a pop music context.[34] One writer found the songs on Contempt! "...like the oddly appropriate soundtracks to confounding four dimensional art installations..."[35] Critics also have suggested the influence of cinema on Slim Twig, with one remarking on “...his compulsive soliloquist's flair, a direct but static-filled line into a collective cinematic unconscious.”[36] Indeed, in speaking about his creative approach, the artist cited his admiration for David Lynch's work.[37]

Recent work

In 2011, Slim Twig professed to a change of direction, stating in an interview with NOW magazine that he is "...reinventing himself as a 60s pop craftsman."[38] His first foray in this direction was a split recording with U.S. Girls, whose side he co-produced, on FatCat subsidiary label, Palmist Records.[39] The release was well received.[40][41] Slim Twig also produced the two most recent U.S. Girls LPs, U.S. Girls on Kraak and Gem.[42][43]

Slim Twig and U.S. Girls have jointly created their own label, Calico Corp., and each artist issued a 7" single as the label's first productions. In addition to co-releasing Slim Twig's latest LP, A Hound at the Hem, Calico Corp. has released an EP, Flushing Meats, by Eric Copeland, and most recently, Zacht Automaat, a double LP by the eponymously named Toronto duo.[44]

In August, 2012, Paper Bag released their second Slim Twig LP, Sof' Sike, which garnered positive reviews.[45][46] Calico Corp. and Pleasence Records then issued A Hound at the Hem, in November, although it was apparently completed prior to Sof' Sike.[47] While cited as "...a pop record that completely forgets it's a pop record...“,[48] A Hound at the Hem has elsewhere been effusively praised as "...a new masterpiece...one of the best post-glam concept albums not made in the slippery 70s”, and cited as one critic's choice for Canada's prestigious Polaris prize.[49][50] The same writer, in reviewing the album subsequent to DFA's re-release, stated that "Canada dropped the ball, failing to recognize the genius in its own backyard."[51]

In addition to re-releasing A Hound at the Hem, DFA Records is releasing Slim Twig's follow-up album.[10]

Discography (as Slim Twig unless otherwise noted)

Videos

Slim Twig:

Tropics:

References

  1. ↑ "ONLINE EXCLUSIVE - Slim’s chance". Fast Forward Weekly. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. 1 2
  3. ↑ XRoady (23 June 2010). "Dog Pound (2010)". IMDb. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Cited in The New Wave: The Hottest Names to Know in Canadian Music, Flare, September, 2009, Vol. 31, No. 9, pg. 139
  5. ↑ "Sight Unseen: The Film". Sightunseenthefilm.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "YouTube". Youtube.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Slim Twig". IMDb. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Boyd van Hoeij. "We Come as Friends: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  9. ↑
  10. 1 2 "Slim Twig – "Clerical Collar" + "All This Wanting" Video (Stereogum Premiere) - Stereogum". Stereogum. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20091226224443/http://www.chartattack.com:80/news/53395/torontos-tropics-pick-up-highest-chartattack-cmw-report-card-mark. Archived from the original on December 26, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/20080906085216/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com:80/article/record_review/137679-slim-twig-derelict-dialect-vernacular-violence. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "SLIM TWIG SHOOTS THE SHIT: DARLENE SHRUGG". Slimtwig.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Catching Up With Slim Twig". NOISEY. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  15. ↑
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20110522160345/http://www.eyeweekly.com/ondisc/article/11553. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "Slim Twig". The Coast Halifax. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  19. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20090612231231/http://paperbagrecords.com:80/catalogue/contempt. Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "Slim Twig". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Slim Twig". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "SLIM TWIG SHOOTS THE SHIT: SPIT IT TWIG VOL. 2 (FREE SHIT)". Slimtwig.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ "Top downloads of 2009". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "The Veils and Vices of Slim Twig - Passion of the Weiss". Passion of the Weiss. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  26. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20080605222045/http://www.iheartmusic.net:80/serendipity/index.php?/archives/1147-Slim-chance.html. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "Indieville : Slim Twig : Vernacular Violence". Indieville.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  28. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20090101202511/http://www.panpot.ca:80/features/renderArticle.php?id=186. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ "Pop/rock artist". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  30. ↑ "Slim Twig". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  31. ↑ CBC News, Arts & Entertainment, CMW 2008 Blog by Sarah Liss, March 8, 2008
  32. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20130617043631/http://www.polarismusicprize.ca:80/article/626/polaris-pick-slim-twig-a-hound-at-the-hem/. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ↑ "Introducing… Slim Twig". RedHotVelvet.co.uk - Independent Music Reviews, News, Opinions and More!. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  34. ↑ "Slim Twig". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  35. ↑ "Sonic Youth, Adam Freeland, Slim Twig, Rhett Miller and Chuck Prophet". Citybeat.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  36. ↑ The Globe and Mail: Ten Acts You Shouldn't Miss by Robert Everett-Green and Carl Wilson, published June 3, 2008
  37. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20080922183445/http://www.montrealmirror.com:80/2008/091808/music2.html. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. ↑ "Slim Twig". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  39. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20111108015344/http://www.palmistrecords.com/?page_id=401. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ↑
  41. ↑ "U.S Girls/Slim Twig - Split 12". The 405. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  42. ↑ "U.S. Girls On Kraak - U.S. Girls". U.S. Girls. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  43. ↑ "Reviews for Gem by U.S. Girls - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  44. ↑ "Music - Calico Corp". Calico Corp. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  45. ↑ "Slim Twig – ‘Sof’ Sike’". Southern Souls. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  46. ↑ Laura Hamlett. "Slim Twig - Sof’ Sike (Paper Bag)". Playbackstl.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  47. ↑ "SLIM TWIG SHOOTS THE SHIT: A HOUND AT THE HEM". Slimtwig.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  48. ↑ "Slim Twig". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  49. ↑ "A Hound at the Hem - Slim Twig - Reviews - Impose Magazine". Imposemagazine.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  50. ↑ "Alan Ranta - essay written for Slim Twig's A Hound... - DFA Records". Dfa-records.tumblr.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  51. ↑ "Slim Twig". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  52. ↑ "Slim Twig "Maintain The Charade" (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  53. ↑ "YouTube". Youtube.com. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  54. ↑ "SLIM TWIG 'Altered Ego' [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  55. ↑ "SLIM TWIG 'Gun Shy' [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  56. ↑ "Slim Twig's Notorious Bride". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  57. ↑ "SLIM TWIG - I'll Always Be A Child". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  58. ↑ "Slim Twig - 'Priscilla'". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  59. ↑ "MANSION HAUNTING". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  60. ↑ "SLIM TWIG 'Street Proposition' from the EP 'Vernacular Violence'". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  61. ↑ "Slim Twig - Birthing & Birthing". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  62. ↑ "Slim Twig - Gate Hearing!". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  63. ↑ "WHERE THE DEAD ARE GLORIOUS". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  64. ↑ "A Black Hole Is Quite Alot". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  65. ↑ "Slim Twig Tropics". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2015.

External links

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