In the melting pot of Terra Twin

Vocalist Maxim Baldry is recalling a recent show in Bristol as he conjures up the mood of the London act’s brand new EP. “There was this amazing, highly energetic woman at the front of the stage, and she was just giving us a barn dance to one of our songs,” he laughs. “This is the dream, we're having a barn dance.” Producing music infused with upbeat indie nostalgia, they’ve managed to inspire a unique level of commitment and enthusiasm, and if that translates into a barn dance, so be it.

As the four members of Terra Twin grin over Zoom, bassist Jonny Thwaites jokes that the dance made his show. There’s something heartwarming about the joy the band gets from these quirky gig moments, as they move to discuss the importance of writing uplifting music, both for themselves and their audience. The band’s debut EP let them get inside a proper studio for the first time, contrasting their “quite fragmented and DIY” previous projects.

For Head Leaking, the group collaborated with producer James Dring. “We sent him some demos just out of the blue and he responded to it… it was a really collaborative project,” they explain. “The energy we all came into the recordings with was about getting lost and trying to form a connection with getting overstimulated in a world where it's just so quick.”

At its core, the EP hones in on this palpable uncertainty and the overstimulation in the aftermath. Describing the overwhelming sensation of being caught up in the digital age, Baldry offers “you’re like: ‘what is this, am I becoming just sort of a bit bleurgh?’,” adding that “a lot of the songs were all about getting to a point of overflow and needing a release... it's just like a melting pot of uncertain and unknown feelings.”

Terra Twin harnesses this confusion, all whilst tapping into a specific facet of Americana-indie nostalgia. Old-school vocals and guitar lines reminiscent of The Velvet Underground shape each track, in spite of the evident lack of emotional clarity. Discussing their main influences, the band highlight artists ranging from Big Thief and Talking Heads, to Arcade Fire and Deerhunter. “We are really inspired by Americana music. That's the sort of music I definitely grew up listening to and we want to mirror that a little bit,” says Baldry.

Guitarist Lewis Spear echoes the importance of nostalgia. “It's kind of like a melting pot of all our childhood tastes... sort of just like this mesh which I think is my favourite bit about us really. It's just like four guys who've had similar but different experiences.” Continuing, Baldry explains, “we want it to be uplifting, we want it to be kind of on the sunnier side of grunge… We love fuzz but we also love melody, and we wanted to fuse that together in some way. We wanted to subvert the expectations and make it a little bit wonky. Because I think we all feel a bit wonky as people.”

A series of live shows await Terra Twin, and their eager anticipation is plain to see. The band are excited to play the EP, as well as some earlier songs that haven’t yet hit a stage. “We've also been working on a bit of set design. I think we're quite into creating a mood and atmosphere with our shows now that reflects us.”

It’s unsurprising that sets are important to the band’s lead singer in particular. Baldry is an easily recognisable face on TV, whether it’s Russell T Davies’ ‘Years and Years’ or Amazon Prime’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’. Whilst music is clearly at the forefront of Baldry’s priorities, the overlap between these two artistic spheres makes itself known. “I think the visuals are such an important representation of your music. We've definitely worked with some amazing directors that have brought our songs to life. Specifically, Glenn Kitson with “Nightshift”, which is where it kind of all started, and then our really good friend and collaborator Jasper Cable-Alexander. He just wanted to take the idea of the song “Head Leaking”, which is like your intrusive thoughts coming into the forefront…” Baldry states. “There were the skaters in the street that we just so happened to meet on the day – it was again like this melting pot of people coming together to celebrate music and feeling a bit wonky and lost, and I think that was very therapeutic for us as well.”

As a band, it seems Terra Twin are always reaching for a sense of release and calm in their music, and closing track “Plain Bridal”, shows them earnestly aware of this cathartic turning point. As drummer Alex Wadstein highlights, the start of the track is the only part of the EP that's really stripped back. “It does a lot without doing a lot…” Describing it as a daydream, Baldry adds, “it felt like a full circle moment... It's kind of chaotic but it feels like it resolves a bit for us, it's that final release. It's a song about sticking together and not quitting on each other... We wanted the ending of our EP to have a sense of real connection to something quite small, and then it did organically grow into a big psychedelic ending – which we love.”

As the conversation draws to a close, Terra Twin come together to touch on their favourite moments across the EP. The titular track, emblematic of this latest project’s contention with overstimulation, crops up. “I really like 'Head Leaking' at the minute, because I think the meaning of the song always changes for me,” says Baldry. “Sometimes it's really angsty and other times it's quite cathartic and enticing, and I think recently just singing that live is always a surprising thing because I never really know how it makes me feel on the day.”