Twain

The singer/songwriter endeavor Twain belongs to multi-instrumentalist Mat Davidson, a onetime participant in the Low Anthem and Spirit Family Reunion. Twain’s output, consistently melodic yet brittle, has ranged across experimental lo-fi and intimate indie folk.

Originating from Franklin County, Virginia, Davidson launched Twain recordings in the mid-2000s. Ahead of his 2009 arrival in the indie folk ensemble the Low Anthem as bassist and multi-instrumentalist, he issued the self-released albums Sleeping Tree and Almanack. He sustained Twain activity with the July 2010 release Love Is All Around, then contributed to the Low Anthem’s 2011 LP Smart Flesh before exiting the group later that year. While affiliated with the Low Anthem, Davidson also performed on fiddle with Americana outfit Spirit Family Reunion, departing that band in early 2014 to redirect focus toward Twain.

Captured straight to tape and mastered in analog, 2014’s Life Labors in the Choir conveyed blues-like rawness within wounded folk. Another 2014 title, Twain-Tone Rally-Race: Collected Recordings 2005-2008, repackaged Sleeping Tree and Almanack. Conceived as an evolving full-length incorporating demos and live performances, the Sir Kitchen Boy EP appeared in 2015, while the Alternator EP, issued in 2016, contained entirely new material.

In 2017 Twain joined Austin, Texas-based Keeled Scales and toured alongside acts such as Big Thief, Langhorne Slim, and the Deslondes. Crediting bassist Ken Woodward and drummer Peter Pezzimenti as bandmembers, the label debut Rare Feeling emerged that October.