Woodland Rock

Photo by Savannah Barkley

Thoreau retreated to a cabin on Walden Pond and wrote essays. Twin Foxes retreated to a barn in North Smithfield and recorded an LP. Strange times call for a tangible response, something that shows just how strange the times actually are. But here’s the kicker: the times are always strange.

This month, Twin Foxes is releasing a full–length record, Sleeping on the Attic Floor, and in the vein of everyone’s favorite cultural hermits, they went out to guitarist Jared Mann’s barn-turned-studio in the woods for eight months and returned with a fully realized concept album. Sleeping on the Attic Floor is a record from the woods that tries to pinpoint what’s real in the most surreal of times.

“I think one of my biggest influences, especially pertaining to place, is nature,” Mann says. “So the studio being right there in the middle of it is pretty amazing. It’s inspiring. That’s where we made the record. We took our time and didn’t stop until it was right.”

Twin Foxes, with their current lineup of Mann on guitar and vocals, Andrew Fortin on bass, Trevor White on guitar, Carlos Molina on drums, and Dylan Partridge who played drums on the record, fully explores and embraces a story on Sleeping on the Attic Floor that plays into the long-form, dynamic songs they’ve put out on earlier EPs and demos.

“This whole record is basically a concept record,” Mann says. “I think its ideas could only be fully realized in an LP. Every song is consistent to particular themes. It deals a lot with the topic of starting over. Being a genuine person in 2017, not reliant on technology and contributing towards progressive change is important, but also challenging. I think the world is a strange place right now. I guess it’s my personal take on life so far.”

For DIY musicians, there are two broad paths to take: either make quick, cheap releases available on Bandcamp or Soundcloud or take the time to create and curate something physical. Twin Foxes took the latter route.

“I think vinyl in itself is the whole package. It’s a piece of art and it’s the best way to present music to a listener, in my opinion,” Mann says. “The sound quality is unlike any other and the packaging lets you into the experience of the record. We worked really hard on the design too. It’s comprised of a lot of photographs I’ve taken over the years. I think there’s a lot of beauty in releasing it this way. It’s hard to compete in a digital world with vinyl, but when it comes to sharing art, you want to be different and special. You want it to be tangible.”

Twin Foxes will be releasing Sleeping on the Attic Floor on vinyl through Tor Johnson Records and Midnight Werewolf Records on February 8 at AS220. Following the album release, the band will be taking a long-weekend February tour through Providence, Western Mass, Keene, NH, Worcester, and Cambridge.

Twin Foxes
Sleeping on the Attic Floor Record Release Show
February 8 at AS220, 95 Empire Street