All Tvvins tower over their math-rocking peers
All Tvvins have a handful of self-released singles to their name but that hasn’t stopped them being touted as serious contenders for greatness. Tracks such as Thank You, You Better and Two Worlds would be impressive enough as calling cards but the members of the Dublin synth-rock group are also thoroughbreds of the local indie scene. Conor Adams is singer/guitarist with
The Cast Of Cheers while Lar Kaye played guitar in the recently departed Adebisi
Shank as well as drums in No Spill Blood. They spell their name with two Vs rather than a W and added the All, as if Tvvins wasn’t enigmatic enough. ‘We liked the look of those two Vs,’ Lar says simply. ‘We think it looks even more eyecatching now with the two Ls of All.’
All a bit confusing if you ask me, but the music is what has put them in the ‘ones to watch’ category. The industry might not have been looking for a harder version of Django Django or Chvrches but in All Tvvins they have just that.
They would reject those comparisons and others that liken them to math-rockers such as Foals but if you like them, chances are All Tvvins will please you doubly.
Granted, this all sounds nearer to Conor’s outfit The Cast Of Cheers than the glorious pummelling rock of No Spill Blood or the instrumental wig-outs that were Adebisi Shank’s stock in trade, but fans of all three bands will find much to like at their upcoming gigs.
‘Though we started as a duo, we play live with a drummer from Cork, Lewis Hedigan, and that three-piece vibe works brilliantly live,’ Lar says. ‘We can work up a more intense sound as a trio. ‘There is such a variation of bands on the Dublin scene that everybody brings bags of different influences to bear when it comes to playing together. The old boundaries of what is rock, indie, metal, psych rock or whatever don’t apply any more. No Spill Blood is
also made up of members of different bands and there isn’t a manifesto there, or with us (in All Tvvins), or a clear idea of what way we should sound.’
Conor Adams’s spare lyric-writing style brings to mind Bernard Sumner of New Order. And like them you can shake a leg to All Tvvins, too. You can almost hear boxes being ticked in record company A&R offices but a rumour that All Tvvins signed to major label Atlantic is untrue.
‘I’m not sure how that rumour got started, but it wasn’t by us,’ Lar says. ‘We are very happy going to a studio every day and writing songs. We’re not rushing into things. We’ve been friends for a while.’
Lar says they have finally found time to play together after talking about it for years. They are certainly not in the business of trying to come up with a formula for success – not right away, anyhow.
‘All I think at the moment is that we seem to have found this little bit of magic that is making it work. How you are influenced is random. Myself and Conor grew up listening to The Police. They are a definite influence,’ says Lar. ‘We’re happy that people seem to be saying such positive things about us at this early stage.’ Every band from Public Enemy to Arctic Monkeys said ‘don’t believe the hype’ just before being widely acclaimed. Could All Tvvins be next?