There are lots of examples of prominent bands splitting up and going to do other things.

Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters were born out of the embers of Nirvana; High Flying Birds is Noel Gallagher’s post-Oasis project; and Gorlliaz is, obviously, Damon Albon’s post Blur success.

So when I first listened to the All Tvvins’ debut album “IIVV”, I initially thought that it might be a new project from the lead singer of Reverend and the Makers (Jon “The Reverend” McClure).

Except it isn’t.

Despite Reverend and the Makers heralding from Sheffield and the All Tvvins from Dublin (you would have thought that I would spot the difference), I swear that their front men sound very similar. So much so, I’ve just listened to Reverend and the Markers debut album, “The State of Things”, just to make sure that I’m not going mad.

But I’m not here to talk about Reverend and the Makers. I want to talk about the All Tvvin’s and IIVV.

IIVV by All Tvvins
IIVV by All Tvvins

The ironic twist to this tail is that the All Tvvins are, indeed, the result of two previous reasonably successful Irish bands – the Adebisi Shank and The Cast of Cheers. Apparently, they both came back from some successful touring with bands like Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club and Bombay Bicycle Club to find that they didn’t have anymore bookings. So they decided to shake it up by disbanding and forming the All Tvvins.

And, in case you were wondering, you pronounce their name “all twins”. The reason that they spell it with two ‘v’s is because there is already a band called the All Twins and they didn’t want it to be confusing…

Anyway, onto IIVV. I read someone else’s review that noted that IIVV sounds like it what inspired by the indie sounds around 2007 (interestingly, when Reverend and the Maker released their debut album) and I think that is a great starting point. Except there is a nice dose of extra maturity and refinement to the All Tvvins.

This is a well crafted rock album that nicely demonstrates the experience of the band. This isn’t a first debut album. This is the result of the learnings from their previous bands.

There are also some subtle references to bands that they have toured with. The closing track “Unbelievable” definitely has the echo’s of Two Door Cinema club in the main rift, but this isn’t in any way a copy. It’s just applying the inspiration.

With lots of clever build ups, smart lyrics and nothing too raucous, I promise you this a 10 track ‘keeper’ that will always feel fresh, no matter how many times you come back to it. Track 5 – Too Young To Live – is a particular favourite.

As a final vote of confidence for this album, I actually first listening to it when it came out and have been meaning to write about it since – I just got laze with the blog.

I hope you like it. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments or on Twitter, etc.

Happy listening.

One thought on “It’s easy to confuse twins : IIVV by All Tvvins

  1. Wow, that’s a great album, from a band, before I read this blog, I’d never heard of! I quickly found it to stream, and am glad I did. There are definitely hints of others in the way it sounds, but it certainly stands up on it’s own. Thanks for recommending it!

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