The Last Time – The Sinister Turns
The Sinister Turns combine quite a few of my favorite things: cheery piano based indie pop (think Mates of State with maybe a little more bubblegum), a fair number of oooohs and woahs, a little ukelele, and glorious female vocals that just scream summertime. Plus, they’re from Harvard and pay homage to the general Cambridge zeitgeist with songs like “I Support Women in Science” and references to Herman Hesse, Pallas Athene, and the uncertain progress of life.
Susan Putnins, singer and bandleader, described them to me as “Sylvia Plath on pop rocks” which is far better than anything I could come up with myself. There are few things more fun than a good hook and The Sinister Turns have them in abundance. The last minute of “The Last Time” alone is as full of exuberance and joy as anything I’ve heard in years and makes me wish I had known about them when I was actually living in Cambridge
They’re currently in hiatus, due to some post-graduation shake-ups, but hopefully will get re-settled in the Fall and release some more beautiful music and play some Boston-area shows. In the meantime, you can listen to some more songs at their myspace, and pick up a copy of the EP Turn to the Left there, too.