Having spent years acting including in Hollyoaks, Twinnie has made her mark on the UK country scene with her EP ‘Better When I’m Drunk,’ performing at The Long Road, C2C Festival and joining the CMT Next Women of Country Tour in the UK. Her debut album Hollywood Gypsy is out this Friday 17 April. Here, we review the album and reveal our standout tracks.
Twinnie has fast made her mark on the country scene in the past few years off the back of her debut EP ‘Better When I’m Drunk.’ This Friday she will release her debut album Hollywood Gypsy that feels like an album years in the making. Sonically – minus a few standout tracks – the album is straight-up pop and is bound to appeal to a broader spectrum than just the country fanbase in the UK. Lyrically, Nashville feels omni-present in the album, with co-writes with the likes of Dave Barns (Maren Morris, Maddie and Tae, Carrie Underwood) and Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift, Shania Twain) amongst others.
The album opens with ‘Type of Girl’ – a song to a future lover about the essence of herself, however the track feels like a disclaimer to the entirety of the rest of the album. Twinnie is going to be who she is, consequences be damned. ‘If you come into my world / There’ll be magic / Mixed with a little madness.’ The track is a big opener, with huge production and Twinnie’s range vocally is phenomenal – although at times it is lost under the multi-layered production. The theme of the track – being unapologetically herself – comes back again and again within the album, sonically and lyrically. In title track ‘Hollywood Gypsy,’ Twinnie sings of being somewhere between her roots and her ambitions in Hollywood and later she retorts to a lover about not wanting to change in ‘I Love You Now Change.’
Twinnie’s lead out track from her last EP, ‘Better When I’m Drunk’ is a fun track about liking a lover more when she’s drunk and can hide his flaws. The track is pure fun and is always a joyful ‘live’ moment in her set. The playful nature comes out of Twinnie here and is present til the end of the record, on tracks like ‘Chasing’ – ‘Don’t make it easy if you want me’ – where she sings of being attracted to the bad guy and on ‘More’ where she teases a lover about having to give more to the relationship. Her strongest upbeat track is most likely later track, ‘Social Babies’ – though a less deep theme – Twinnie’s vocal gymnastics are staggering here and unique. The track is catchy and relatable for the millennial generation.
‘I Love You Now Change’ is indisputably the stand-out track from the record. Written with Emily Falvey and Jack McManus, it is an emotional track about not wanting to be changed by a partner. Twinnie is at her best when the production is stripped back and her vocal is allowed to breathe and be quiet, so the best moments on this track are on the verses here where the real emotion of her vocal comes through. ‘You make me feel like I ain’t enough / But I am enough’ is one of the most gorgeous turns of phrase on the album and Twinnie’s vocal is incredibly pure here. So, another standout moment on the record is on ‘Lie to Me,’ a co-write with Jon Green (James Bay, Lady Antebellum) where Twinnie is able to breathe emotion into the song. This is the most devastating and emotional moment on the record. Where Twinnie’s vocal is allowed to really soar, a true powerful moment on the record is created with palpable emotion coming through her vocal that could have been allowed to remain solo – the backing vocals detract rather than supplement the track. The album would have been improved by employing similar production in other tracks to provide ‘quieter’ moments – like on ‘Whiplash’. Having heard the live version of Hollywood Gypsy, I personally did not believe that the production on the album did the track justice – this one was a gorgeous track and big pop production detracted from the power of Twinnie’s vocal. However, they have done just that on following track ‘Superhero’ that is a powerful ballad about the sentiment of love and what it should be. ‘I know love has no place for superheroes.’ There is a surprising grit in Twinnie’s vocal here that gives the track a gorgeous edge.
‘Daddy Issues’ sticks out in the context of the album, infused with clever country production, with a steady driving backing track reminiscent of honky tonks. The lyrics are similarly clever and catchy ‘Why do good, good women stick with bad men / It’s all sunshine and roses till you say boyfriend.’ The track stands out, sonically lifting the album and differentiating from the rest and is one of the strongest moments on the record. So too, the country production elements on ‘Feeling of Falling’ lift this track too.
Twinnie is at her strongest on the quieter tracks on this record. Her vocal should not be underestimated, reaching notes that – trust me – are unique and impossible to reach. Where the record falls down are on the moments where production drowns her vocal and try to make the song ‘bigger’ than it needs to be, for her voice speaks louder when the production is stripped back. For country purists, the production on ‘Daddy Issues’ will be insufficient to make this a country album – but as a pop album the result is stellar. Lyrically, Twinnie – who has been a part of every track on the album – has done a stellar job on the creation and balance of the record and I just wish that the lyrics had been showcased in quieter production. However, as a debut, the album packs a giant punch and will rocket her into the spotlight. Perhaps, we should all listen to Twinnie, if you come into her world ‘there’ll be magic / Mixed with a little madness.’
Editor’s Picks
I Love You Now Change
Daddy Issues
Lie To Me
