Twen

Emerging from Boston's D.I.Y. community, Twen favored a sharp-edged pop approach laced with jangly accents over the raw textures of indie or punk. The pair documented their opening performance on tape and kept up an unrelenting tour pace before presenting a richer account of their atmospheric yet melody-rich material on the 2019 debut album Awestruck.

Twen began in 2017 when vocalist Jane Fitzsimmons and guitarist Ian Jones, then based in the Boston area, joined forces. Each had already taken part in local bands and helped organize events inside the area's active D.I.Y. house-show circuit, and together they started writing pieces that merged lightly psychedelic rock with introspective pop. During those first years Fitzsimmons sang with clear force yet kept the words difficult to parse, steering listeners away from fixed storylines. Once the duo settled in Nashville they issued the cassette Twen Live, which contained five songs captured at that initial show. They maintained steady touring throughout the following two years. In 2019 they joined the independent label Frenchkiss to release their first studio album, Awestruck.