New Orleans-based punk band Twisted Teens have established themselves as one of the most original bands in the contemporary DIY punk scene, ignoring genre conventions and diving into unexpected thematic territory with their chaotic, energetic and highly creative new album.
By guest writer Dana Eubank
Stream: “Twisted Teens” – Twisted Teens
noNewly formed New Orleans-based punk band Twisted Teens released their debut album on Bandcamp in April of this year.
An erotic, adrenaline rush, packed with esoteric references and genre-defying twists, listening to this is like stepping out of the cold earth on a warm spring day. A must-have for fans of the Raw Power-era Stooges, Eastern mysticism, or punk-turned-country. (Yes, it’s as chaotic as it sounds.)
Led by prolific DIY musician and songwriter Cas P. Ian (the same man behind the famous folk-punk band Blackbird Raum), the Twisted Teens lineup includes acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, drums, bass, and keyboards. On this record, Cas P. Ian (other credits include CPN, Caspian, C-SPAN) collaborated with pedal steel player RJ Santos; the two appear together on the tintype photo on the album cover. Drummer Magnus Nymo (Blackbird Raum, FORK, Lyngfarer, Regn) and keyboardist Cameron Snyder are each featured on one track: “something I haven’t told ya” (with Nymo) and “rando,” respectively.
The 11-song collection is based on old-school rock and roll, and moves between punk subgenres like proto-punk, post-punk, and surf-punk, while also incorporating elements of country, folk, electronic music, and even pop. However, fans of sappy pop or traditional country music will likely not find the record very appealing. Cass P. Ian said, “I wanted to make something that felt like a garage rock record, but… […] It’s definitely not a garage rock record.”
When asked about his influences, Ian cited artists such as Link Wray and Roky Erickson, both of whom left an indelible mark on the first two decades of rock music. As Ian points out, these artists brought a “raw sexual energy” to their music that was one of the “primitive currents of punk.” More obvious reference points for the Twisted Teens’ sound, such as West Coast post-punk bands The Wipers and Agent Orange, feel less relevant to the songwriter due to their inherently “asexual vibes.”
In addition to its intensity and sexuality, the album incorporates elements of spirituality and mythology in ways that may surprise some listeners. Filled with medieval archetypes and tarotic imagery, the album subverts assumptions about what a punk record should sound like. For Twisted Teens, punk and rock and roll are merely springboards into realms frequented by mystics, tantrists, and divinely inclined poets. As the album plays, the sun and moon seem to orbit at high speed, dragging each other around the railroad tracks. Day turns to night, and we travel for a time before being transported back into the sunlight.
Opening with a tongue-in-cheek reference to original sin, the album is a heroic 32-minute exploration of the intersection of Jungian shadow work, the mental health industrial complex, and sex. In Cass P. Ian’s own words, this is “an album about sex,” and this powerful energy is palpable through both the lyrics and the atmosphere. However, the album is neither overtly erotic nor gratuitously vulgar. As Cass P. Ian points out, the album is also about “masculine (though not necessarily masculine) emotional and relational experiences.”
“Our culture only presents us with a false, perverted vision of masculinity,” he explains. “And so people respond by either embracing that false vision or rejecting masculinity altogether.”Twisted Teen” showcases an exploration of masculinity against a backdrop of fuzzed guitars, saturated vocals, and upbeat pedal steel melodies.
“When we were little, our parents would push us around.
Can you imagine that?
And as we get older
Push yourself away and don’t fight back.”
As the album progresses, we come across some catchy country-inspired tracks.Marionette” and “Tic Tac Toc“or”What I haven’t told you” and “When the wire breaks” While a lot of DIY punk is perceived as niche and inaccessible to the masses, Twisted Teens weave surprising pop elements into nearly every song, full of catchy melodies, bright guitar tones and clever turns of phrase. One of the album’s smartest, most playful lines comes in the chorus of “tic tac toe.”
“Tic-tac-toe, put them all in a row
I may be your X, but I can give you an O
I might give it to you three times in a row.”
The album’s darker songs include “Wait for the whip” and “Cool ex-friendThe former embraces the drama of country rock, while the latter leans heavily into a post-punk aesthetic, all the while Cas P. Ian’s resonant vocals and Santos’ well-timed steel riffs tie the tracks together. Regardless of genre, every song on the album highlights the band’s creativity and technical ability, deepening beyond convention into something unique and a little bit crazy.
The core of the album isThe spirit of the valley never dies” arrives midway through the album like a midnight moon, its 12-second intro of synthesizers, programmed drums, and spoken-word vocals quickly evolving into another fast-paced, explosive track that encapsulates the album’s spiritual core.
“Come on, Spirit of the Valley
Open the gate
Open the portal
Where Holy Water Awaits
The spirit of the valley never dies
She never leaves
Her usefulness is unstable
Hiding from the everyday
When asked about the “Spirit of the Valley,” Cass P. Ian responded that the imagery came from a translation by Ursula K. Le Guin. Tao Te ChingIt is a Chinese spiritual text dating back to the 4th century.Number 1st century BC. In Cas P. Ian’s words, “The Spirit of the Valley is the Great Cosmic Spirit.” He further emphasizes the connection between darkness, lunar light, and female sexual expression. The balance of hot and cold, light and dark, yin and yang, is no coincidence for Cas P. Ian and his Twisted Teens. The album achieves a deliberate balance, emphasizing this duality to make a statement about the human experience. “The most powerful male figures are those who understand lunar consciousness,” Cas P. Ian points out. “The most powerful female figures are those who express solar energy.”
In his other projects, such as Blackbird Raum, CPNPC and Scissorbills, Cass P. Ian has explored themes like capitalism and the destruction of the natural world in a more predictable folk-punk style of composition. With this record, the mad magician has done something new. The energy of this album is distilled, clarified, crystallized and charged. The creator chips away at the stone, getting ever closer to the heart of the work: a fusion of raw power, post-post-punk clarity and mystical specificity.
The record is like a hot-blooded, slime-covered creature with its intensity and unpolished production style.
Songs end suddenly and unexpectedly. Short synth interludes appear at seemingly random times. There’s no breathing space between songs (none are longer than three and a half minutes). But despite their often-disjointed songs, the album maintains a sonic coherence. With bold, gritty vocals, subdued percussion, and unconventional (for a punk band) instrumentation, Twisted Teens cast a focused, vibrant spell on the listener. Whether the spell is intentional or not, the effect is undeniable. This album will have you hooked.
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Dana Eubank Dana is a freelance writer, editor, musician, podcaster, and artist from the Snoqualmie region of the Northwest. Through various mediums, Dana explores music, magic, gender, sexuality, and navigating capitalism as a kind-hearted human being. Follow Dana on Instagram at @dana.yewbank.
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