Slim Twig Is "Twiggy-rock"

Do you think you're up on all the latest sub-genres? Well, Toronto's Slim Twig has crafted a few of his own for critics, hipsters and marketing gurus to use when trying to think of cutting-edge ways to describe his music. While originally dubbing his style "concrete rockabilly," he feels he's already moved on to different musical terrain.

"Concrete rockabilly is just kind of a catchy slogan I came up with to try and instigate some attention," explains Twig. "It's all a lie, though.

"I really create Twiggy-rock. Both are trademarked, as I am hoping to make serious coin in this biz."

Regardless of what people call his dark, eclectic mix of rockabilly, blues and synth-pop, he says it's more important that people simply take the time to listen. Positive press for both his live sets and his Paper Bag Records debut EP, Derelict Dialect, have created a hometown buzz around Twig that he hopes can spread to other regions.

"People have interest and are starting to know of me. It may sound ridiculous because I'm so young, but I've been writing music for a long time, and I feel lucky to have the modest acclaim that I've had so far. In the next several months, my priority is to get music to people outside of Toronto. I love my city, but have zero interest in becoming just a local phenomenon."

Paper Bag will release another Slim Twig EP, Vernacular Violence, on Aug. 5. A limited-edition LP combining the first and second EPs will also come out this summer. Vernacular Violence was penned in late 2006 after Twig finished Derelict Dialect and, despite not having much luck, was actively seeking a label to help him share his music with others.

"Vernacular Violence was recorded in frustration," Twig admits. "I was really irked by the fact that, at the time, I was sitting on a bunch of unreleased material that I thought was really strong, but that no one was really interested in, and also that I had no money to record any new stuff.

"VV is really a documented exercise on making do with what's available to you. It was entirely written, composed, recorded and mixed by one broke-ass dude. I let all the accidents in, made sure the lyrics were as terrifying and intriguing as I could make them, and started focusing on things like texture and tone, as opposed to melody and fidelity. I'm super-proud of this record."

Slim Twig will finally put out a proper full-length recording next year. Although tight-lipped about the project, he says the tracks are some of the most exciting and out-there stuff he's composed, and promises that the record is bound to cause an equal amount of awe and head-scratching.

Perhaps some of the new material will surface during his upcoming concerts in Ontario and Quebec, where Twig will be backed by Huckleberry Friends' Siena DeCampo on Farfisa organ, Young Mother's Jesse James Laderoute on drums and guitar, and cellist Tilman Lewis of The Knot. He says his talented friends challenge him to be a better and more entertaining performer.

"Having such a great band definitely creates an energy that is conducive to performing. I feel like I have an original pulse behind me, and it pushes me to give some extra life to the tunes. Plus, my band is pretty attractive, so I have to find a way to divert the attention."

Twig sees a way in which all band members, himself included, can better themselves. Whether or not it actually improves anything is yet to be seen, but it definitely can't hurt.

"At our live shows, you can expect to see good hair," he says. "I've been working on it, and encourage my band members to do the same.

"'Get a new cut,' I berate them. Hopefully our combined hair-power will be enough to topple expectations, set the bar higher — that sort of thing."

Here are Slim Twig's Canadian dates:

June 7 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
June 11 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
June 12 Montreal, QC @ Jupiter Room
June 13 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
June 14 Toronto, ON @ The Silver Dollar (NXNE)