Much will be made of the story behind One Stop Shop, the sophomore album from Twen. Rightfully so, as the band’s history is a pretty intriguing one. Back in 2016 they released a live EP, got picked up by Frenchkiss records for their debut Awestruck in 2019, released a bunch of great videos, toured a bunch and then… went off on their own. One Stop Shop is a completely DIY undertaking; written, recorded, produced, and marketed entirely by the band. Plenty of artists take on each of those responsibilities but few are able to do so to the impressive degree that Twen has executed. From the moment they kicked off the first single for “HaHa Home,” they’ve been cranking out high budget videos and promo posters worthy of framing. In short, it’s all extremely put together to a quality level that seems nearly impossible to achieve even if you did have a whole team behind you.
Of course, the story of the record is only meaningful if the record itself is captivating and we are overjoyed to report that One Stop Shop delivers in spades on that front. The bevy of singles that came before the album release – “HaHa Home”, “Dignitary Life”, “Bore U”, “Feeling in Love (From the Waist Down)” – could have easily been the sole album highlights but having the context of the full record, they might as well be randomly plucked songs from the album. Any combination of these tracks would serve as a sufficient enticement to dive deeper. Album opener, and the titular track, “One Stop Shop (For the Fading Revolution)” combines a buoyant guitar with lyrics seemingly about the frustration of trying; politically and personally. “Brooklyn Bridge”, found on the later half of the record, mellows the vibe with mournful lyrics, proving the band spent plenty of time maturing their sound.
Put quite simply, One Stop Shop is an immersively captivating listen from start to finish, full stop. The amount of work to write, produce, record and promote the songs is likely an unfathomably large undertaking but the results were certainly worth it. The record channels (among many things) psychedelia, underground BritPop, modern pop radio and blends them all together into a decidedly unique Twen sound. Put it on your Best of the Year nominees list and make sure you listen to it obsessively.