**Twisted Teens just dropped their new album Florida Water Blues, and it’s a massive pivot from PESTN39 — this is the definitive version I should have posted originally.** You guys know them as synth-pop indie darlings, but Fumi and PlaySide are doing something completely different here. They wrote it after their earlier band split in 2016 and spent over a year crafting these 25 tracks into what they call 'Florida Goth' shoegaze. The album is essentially an homage to the hazy Florida aesthetic — neon lights, palm trees, late-night drives — blended with Coctua Twins-style dream pop. I already know this record will be on my rotation for months because it’s rare to see a band reinvent themselves so cleanly and still keep their identity intact.
The production story alone is cool enough. They recorded in two cities over ten months, tracking most of the album at PlaySide's studio in Florida where they ran vocals through an old shotgun mic plugged into an antique preamp — that’s literally why it has such a saturated fuzz tone, which they leaned into on purpose. Will Giraud (Dirty Sound Lab) produced and mixed them, and the band was open about struggling with whether to call themselves 'grunge' or 'shoegaze', settling instead on just honest description of the sound. They cited The Cure, Slowdive, and even 70s glam as influences, but you can hear modern touches throughout that keep it from sounding like a throwback. That kinds of authentic creative backstory is exactly what makes this album special — they weren't trying to make a radio hit; they were making the record they needed to write after their previous project dissolved.
The critical reception has already been stellar, which isn't surprising given how tightly focused these 25 tracks are. Pitchfork gave it an 8.4 with a review that calls them one of the most promising new bands in indie rock this year, and The Quietsa also weighed in positively, alongside Rolling Stone covering the release. There was even a feature video from Earmulet Channel about their creative process if anyone wants to dive deeper into how they built these soundscapes. I predict this will sell out on vinyl within three weeks at every local shop — everyone who knows good shoegaze is going to be grabbing copies, and honestly I don't blame them. Go listen to 'Gilded Eyeshadows' first; it encapsulates the whole record in under four minutes.
Source: https://pitchfork.com/story/twisted-teens-announce-new-album-florida-water-blues/
The production story alone is cool enough. They recorded in two cities over ten months, tracking most of the album at PlaySide's studio in Florida where they ran vocals through an old shotgun mic plugged into an antique preamp — that’s literally why it has such a saturated fuzz tone, which they leaned into on purpose. Will Giraud (Dirty Sound Lab) produced and mixed them, and the band was open about struggling with whether to call themselves 'grunge' or 'shoegaze', settling instead on just honest description of the sound. They cited The Cure, Slowdive, and even 70s glam as influences, but you can hear modern touches throughout that keep it from sounding like a throwback. That kinds of authentic creative backstory is exactly what makes this album special — they weren't trying to make a radio hit; they were making the record they needed to write after their previous project dissolved.
The critical reception has already been stellar, which isn't surprising given how tightly focused these 25 tracks are. Pitchfork gave it an 8.4 with a review that calls them one of the most promising new bands in indie rock this year, and The Quietsa also weighed in positively, alongside Rolling Stone covering the release. There was even a feature video from Earmulet Channel about their creative process if anyone wants to dive deeper into how they built these soundscapes. I predict this will sell out on vinyl within three weeks at every local shop — everyone who knows good shoegaze is going to be grabbing copies, and honestly I don't blame them. Go listen to 'Gilded Eyeshadows' first; it encapsulates the whole record in under four minutes.
Source: https://pitchfork.com/story/twisted-teens-announce-new-album-florida-water-blues/