Peak Twins

Two mates knocking back too many beers and picking up instruments is hardly unusual, yet few such nights ever translate into an actual livelihood. Peak Twins proved the exception. Liam Kenny, whose guitar and vocals had already appeared with the Friendsters and Bitch Perfect, and Joel Carey, formerly the voice and percussionist of Wolf & Cub, shared a house in Keswick, Adelaide, Australia. Late in 2010, after one particularly well-lubricated evening, they began trading songs; a cassette left running captured the results. Listening back the next morning, they were startled to hear real potential in the exchange between Kenny’s jagged, precise guitar figures and Carey’s relaxed yet quietly fervent singing.

They set about recording with greater intent and christened the project Peak Twins after David Lynch’s cult television series Twin Peaks. A digital EP titled I’m Out was offered as a free download in March 2011. To play the material live they recruited three Adelaide musicians—James Mannix, Chad McLachlan, and Ben Quici—while the core pair later shifted to Melbourne in hopes of widening their audience. The remaining members stayed behind, rejoining only for tours. The Melbourne independent circuit proved receptive, and in 2012 Peak Twins issued a split EP alongside Scott & Charlene’s Wedding.

The following year the Australian independent label Bedroom Suck—which had previously worked with both Scott & Charlene’s Wedding and Bitch Perfect—signed the duo. Their self-titled debut album arrived before the end of 2013 and reached American listeners the next year.