Vermont’s latest jam band sensation Twiddle has released the first part to their ambitious double-album, PLUMP. The genre-defying four-piece has garnered quite the reputation for themselves in a relatively small amount of time, with 2015 serving as Twiddle’s coronation as one of the major players in the community. They’ve co-headlined major tours with Kung Fu, The Werks, opened Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the String Cheese Incident, and played some of the biggest festivals of the summer – Wanee, Summer Camp, Wakarusa, Bonnaroo, The Friendly Gathering, All Good, Camp Bisco, Gathering of the Vibes, Peach Music Festival and Catskill Chill.

With PLUMP, Twiddle showcases what we’ve come to expect from these young musicians: plush musical arrangements drawing from many different influences and positive messages and themes.

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Beginning with the brand new “Complacent Race,” the listener gets an idea of where Twiddle’s collective head is at on this record. A catchy, recurring riff supplied by Mihali Savoulidis’ guitar and the accompaniment of horns carries the track with its powerful message of healing and love. Twiddle’s message is a simple one:

If everyone would just agree
To live and give with empathy
Embrace the world’s diversity
We’re all the same race underneath
as we birth complacency
Material conspiracy
Live to love the common breed
So we can all relax and dream

One of the most telling indications of Twiddle’s evolution as a band is the quality of the song writing on PLUMP. “Amydst the Myst” and “Lost In The Cold” both feature some acoustic instrumentation, including a strong solo by Savoulidis on the former, while there’s a strong, danceable reggae flavor on the latter. They both speak to personal struggle and perseverance. Very self-empowering.

“Every Soul” is an incredible, upbeat funk track lead by bassist Zdenek Gubb that features RAQ keyboard player and Twiddle comrade, Todd Stoops, while “Five” offers a bevy of slow building peaks and valleys brilliantly lead by keyboard player Ryan Dempsey and accented by the placement of some delicate strings. The production on this new album certainly surpasses Twiddle’s previous studio efforts.

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“Dusk Till Dawn” finds Twiddle in a much different pocket than listeners are accustomed to. Sung by drummer Brook Jordan, the song is a beautiful country western track at its core, featuring some sweet and subtle pedal steel guitar. Staple live jams like the reggae-infused “Polluted Beauty” and “Syncopated Healing” get the nod on PLUMP, with “Syncopated Healing” featuring a “Reba”-esque jam section that elevates the song to great heights.

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“Be There” features Ratdog saxophone player Kenny Brooks. Savoulidis says the track is “about treating people kindly and being good to your fellow man or woman. the chorus is from the perspective of our lost loved ones. They’re telling us that even though they are gone, they are still with us to help us through the hard times.” How can you not root for a band that is putting out these kind of positive vibes?


PLUMP (Part I) wraps up with the funky, hip-hop tinged “Indigo Trigger” and an upbeat “White Light.” Again, Savoulidis delivers these significant lyrics:

Take the negative input and flip it upside-down
Cuz when we let our pain
Run free to grow and rage
It blows a little of our light out
Every single day
Allow yourself to breathe
Kick back relax and dream
So many good things come to those who love relentlessly

With the first half of PLUMP in the books, Twiddle will take to the studio again in early January 2016 to finish the record ahead of its release in June ’16. The second part promises new music from the band, so be on the lookout for more news on its progress in the coming months! Check out PLUMP Vol. 1 on the band’s website.

[Lyrics via uTwiddle.net]