Twister

AMG Review of Twister

Skip Jansen
All Music Guide

Somewhat of a milestone indie rock recording, Twister was released by Mark Robinson on his Teen Beat imprint as a cassette release limited to 400 copies in 1998. The recordings feature juvenile versions of songs that appeared in more developed forms on the acclaimed Malcolm X Park album and were recorded in the years spanning 1983 to 1988, with Robinson leading a cast that included Phil Krauth, Tim Moran, Tajinder Chadha, Andrew Riley, Chris Thomson, and Dave Park. The demo versions of songs from Malcolm X Park include "Oily" -- which is a noisier take on "Oils," a supercharged post-punk anthem and the opener of the Malcolm X Park album -- as well as "Dago Rising," a tape experiment featuring the lyrics of "Dago Red" with the Kenneth Anger tribute Lucifer Rising's vocal delivered simultaneously. The candid lo-tech approach became a signature of Unrest's later work, and is toyed with here on a wryly humorous Latin-tinged "Give Me Yr Eyes," which is, in fact, a strangely disguised cover of the Cure's "A Strange Day."