Psychic Twin – “Stop In Time”

Behind the forceful pulses of Psychic Twin’s electro-pop, a clue to frontwoman Erin Fein’s own psyche appears in the way she keeps repeating certain phrases: “No, I can’t stop in time,” “I won’t take part of you,” “When I go farther, I lose myself,” “We can work it out, baby.” This Brooklyn duo has the musical smarts not to get too clever about their music, so it might seem they’re simply drilling home the refrain, Ramones-style, in the crescendos that inevitably wrap up their songs. But Fein’s obsessive recitations betray a revealing anxiety lurking behind Psychic Twin’s radiant pop.

Four years in the making, Psychic Twin’s new album Strange Diary covers, as the title suggests, a tumultuous period in Fein’s life marked by divorce and long-distance relocation. The lyrics tell of various states of interiority amid the disintegrating relationships around her, but the music’s visceral throb inserts an unexpected buffer between narrator and the scenes being witnessed. The effect is to suggest those repeated phrases don’t fall on the ears of the “you” Fein addresses, but rather exist as incantations to decode and illuminate her own emotional instinct. It’s a creative strategy that resonates with listeners who might otherwise tune out of Fein’s adult turmoil, adding nuance to the deceptively catchy pop of Psychic Twin.

Strange Diary is out now on Polyvinyl Records.

PSYCHIC TWIN ON TOUR:
Sep 24: Brooklyn, NY – National Sawdust
Oct 31: Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Nov 2: Atlanta, GA– Terminal West*
Nov 3: Birmingham, AL – Saturn Birmingham*
Nov 4: Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall*
Nov 5: San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger*
Nov 9: Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom*
Nov 10: San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park*
Nov 11: Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre*
Nov 12: Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre*
Nov 14: San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore*
Nov 15: San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore*
Nov 17: Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre*
Nov 18: Lincoln, NE – Vega*
Nov 19: Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue*
Nov 20: Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall*
Nov 21: Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe*
Nov 22: Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot Ballroom*
Nov 23: Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace*
Nov 24: Montreal, QC – Théâtre Fairmount*

* w/ STRFKR, Gigamesh