Wild Onion
by Twin Peaks
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Aug 5, 2014
    83
    Though Twin Peaks are positioned next to local garage-rockers The Orwells, the Smith Westerns, and countless other bands with vanilla influences like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the 20-year-olds have more than enough chops to rise above the rest.
  2. DIY Magazine
    Sep 12, 2014
    80
    Masters of their craft, this grand exploration could probably go with some cutting down and honing exercised, but these are fresh faces heading out into the great unknown.
  3. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 9, 2014
    80
    Twin Peaks somehow manage to translate the last ten years of American guitar music into a 40 minute package that will help you remember why you fell in love with all of the bands which ‘changed your life’ in the first place.
  5. AllMusic
    Aug 21, 2014
    80
    Wild Onion makes a huge impact from beginning to end, and serves notice to all the bands out there who think they are playing rock & roll the way it should be played that there are some new kids on the scene who can show them a thing or ten.
  6. Consequence
    Aug 5, 2014
    75
    The record’s cross-section of overlapping sounds and styles is buoyed by its layout. By scattering the louder tunes from the delicate ones and the moodier, more ambient songs from the rowdy rockers, the band keeps listeners on their toes.
  7. Under The Radar
    Aug 5, 2014
    75
    These guys are here to have fun, and their faculty for it might rankle some elders. But in America's Midwest, sacred cows are for the tipping, so just sit back and make note of every touchstone trodden while these youngsters blow it all out on mostly tuned guitars.
  8. Rolling Stone
    Aug 21, 2014
    70
    On their second record, the spunky quartet pull off Exile-era Stones strut and Velvet Underground guitar poesy with sophistication that's beyond their years, and a sense of humor, too.
  9. PopMatters
    Aug 8, 2014
    70
    Lacking the necessary cohesion to make it a truly stellar album, Wild Onion instead plays like a wildly enjoyable compilation of like-minded musicians exploring the possibilities afforded them by a future that is wide open.
  10. CMJ
    Aug 5, 2014
    70
    This doesn’t feel like yet more easy-trash, pool party punk (though it is that, and good at it), but something that has a preternatural songwriting zing and energy not predicated on just the fumbling charm of a stained ’80s metal t-shirt and Ronettes knowledge, but actual, like charm.
  11. Pitchfork
    Aug 6, 2014
    69
    The melodies for their slower and more winsome songs hit harder and soar higher than the power chord explosions, which can feel a little stale, like maybe someone forgot about that Schlitz can.
  12. Q Magazine
    Nov 13, 2014
    60
    The band, however, are a little too gauche to rock out convincingly and fare better on the softer, Beach Boys-influenced psychedelia of Mirror Of Time and Strange World. [Dec 2014, p.118]
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  13. The 405
    Sep 15, 2014
    60
    There's some great individual tracks here, but they need their next full-length to be less Jekyll and Hyde and more Laura Palmer and Maddy Ferguson.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. ScotchRobbins
    Oct 27, 2014
    9
    This is probably my favorite album of this year. It's a 16-track box of blue skies, summer, punk rock, and the heart of a garage band. ItThis is probably my favorite album of this year. It's a 16-track box of blue skies, summer, punk rock, and the heart of a garage band. It traverses momentous highs and solemn lows without breaking stride , only beginning to falter near the end. Twin Peaks draws heavy inspiration from older artists;

    The first track, "I Found A New Way", is a bright, fuzzy, noisy, catchy mess that epitomizes one of the two extremes this band carries: a wild romp of electric guitars, howling vocals, and extreme durability testing of a drumset.

    "Strawberry Smoothie" follows a very similar attitude, almost incoherent, but rousing and amusing by all measures.

    "Mirror of Time" is the first of a number of slower, more sincere songs on the album. It just pleasantly carries you along amid excellent lead guitar and well performed vocals.

    "Sloop Jay D" is personally my favorite track on the album, spanning the gap between the garage rock full of wild abandon and the slower near-ballads that hold the album up. The chorus and guitar riffs are, even if simple, probably among the catchiest I've ever heard. The song's title is a reference to the Beach Boys' track "Sloop John D", for those of you with watchful eyes (just as the album title is a reference to "Wild Honey").

    "Making Breakfast" is another slower track, carried along by the lead guitar and well performed vocals. The song is easy to get caught up in, the chorus especially capable of sweeping you away.

    "Strange World" is a curious track, second only to a track later on the album named after it for peculiarity. It almost doesn't feel like a song, held together only by cohesion, but still flows nicely.

    "Fade Away" is perhaps the complete opposite of the track before it. It is very loud, very fast, and very gritty. Not quite textbook punk rock, but certainly very close.

    "Sweet Thing" feels like the Grateful Dead track "Casey Jones", come to think of it, minus the acceleration of the tempo at the end. It may not be the strongest track on the album, but still worth a listen.

    "Stranger World" is a promise. The shortest, by far oddest track on the album places a saxophone front and center and just lets it run wild, which is a very welcome addition to the album.

    "Telephone" is a lot like "Sloop Jay D" - very structured and layered and generally pretty bright. Midway through the song, the song undergoes metamorphosis from a mellow piece into a faster, fuzzier piece of the same metal.

    "Flavor" is a pretty stereotypical song all things considered, but it does one thing and does it right - bright, happy garage rock.

    "Ordinary People" is the least memorable track on the album. It holds to their style, but it's almost as though they tried writing a slower tune and succeeded all too well. There is some Beach-Boys-esque vocal harmony midway through, which is a nice touch, however.

    "Good Lovin'" is another piece like "Sloop Jay D" or "Telephone" in that it's structured and a little quickened in pace, and like the others, is one of the strongest pieces in the album.

    "Hold On" slows the pace again, but with an almost nostalgic feel to it in a key not often touched by the band. It's like listening to a sunset.

    "No Way Out" sounds a lot like "Telephone", but is perhaps a little less memorable. Still holds true to the style and absolutely worth a listen. The chorus is the strongest part of the song.

    "Mind Frame" is a fitting conclusion piece to the album. I can't put it any simpler: it just feels good to listen to. It ties the whole experience together.

    Whether this album is your cup of tea or not, it's absolutely worth at least one listen. After all, these guys are only in their twenties; this album is a remarkable piece of work for such young artists.    … Full Review »
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