You remember Twisted Wheel, don’t you?
Of course you do. They were the loud-as-hell indie kids who gave us stadium-ready gems like Lucy The Castle, She’s A Weapon and You Stole the Sun. They were the guys who supported Oasis on their last-ever stadium tour. They were the young ‘uns who seemed poised for superstardom, with the clothes to make a Mod jealous and enough of an indie-rock snarl to make Tom Kasabian quiver in his boots.
Then, they disappeared.
We guess you could call them a band on the run
Where they went, nobody quite knew. Rumours of a band fall-out, substance abuse, and occasional solo endeavours flew around certain merky corners of the Internet, but no-one seemed to know the answer to the question on everybody’s lips: what the hell happened to Twisted Wheel?
Well, dear reader, we’ve got a bit of good news for you. Not only have the band reconvened and recorded a brand-new album, but they’ve also decided to head out on a bloody massive UK tour – and, as if that wasn’t enough, they also happen to be sounding better than ever.
When we decided to pop down to their gig at Bristol’s The Lanes, we were expecting to enjoy the show. After all, we’d seen them before, and we thought we knew what to expect: specifically, loud guitars, big choruses, and a bloody good time. What we weren’t expecting, though, was to think that they were absolutely fucking brilliant. We apologise for the language, dear and delicate reader, but there’s just no other way of putting it: they really were that good.
The venue may have been small, but the band were mighty
There was just something inherently right about Twisted Wheel on that warm Bristolian night. The guitars were loud, to the point where One on One‘s ears were left ringing for a solid day-and-a-half after the show; the drums were pounding, and the bass felt like it was about to cut through you like a cheese wire; and frontman Johnny Brown‘s vocals were far more tuneful than any indie-rock frontman has the right to lay claim to.
Heck, if you ask us, even the venue was the perfect fit for them. Yes, it’s not Wembley Stadium, but we honestly think that the intimacy of The Lanes played a part in making the gig as flippin’ good as it was. After all, when a band makes music that sounds so ferociously in-your-face, it helps when the singer is so close to you that it feels like he’s literally screaming the lyrics in your face.
So, if you get the chance, make sure you head down to your nearest small venue to catch Twisted Wheel the next time they come to town. We may not know what they got up to in their years away from the spotlight, but we do know one thing: you can’t help but have a good time at a Twisted Wheel show.