Following closely on the heals of their recently released debut album "Mass Driver", the new extended play from Twingiant is pretty much business as usual for this Phoenix area band. All five tracks on "Sin Nombre" drink from the bluesy waters of some backwoods bayou and personify the Clutch/Melvins school of rock and roll. The rusty, iron encrusted vocals still roar much like on the debut record, the thick atmosphere of groove is still prevalent, but there seems to be something missing all the same.
That something is the fact that while the songs on this EP are generally good, the compositions and performances sound slightly tired. It seems after a few listens that Twingiant is just going through the motions and spinning around in a slow, ponderous circle with a razor edge that has become dull and nicked. Maybe the band is just going for a more laid back approach with this batch of music, but it certainly doesn't make the same impression that their debut did.
All that being said, there is a really solid moment in the form of the song Fossilized. This second track of the EP has some striking vocals and really gets interesting about two minutes in as the music builds up and into the burly, swaggering type of jam that Twingiant does so well. Much can also be said for the following track La Haine, which erupts with grunge energy and even contains some memorable tempo changes that contrast Iron Maiden-like-galloping with a slow, dirty sludge crawl.
There are many instances where an EP can be viewed as a transition between albums for a band and results can vary widely. Sometimes musicians just have to get those songs down on tape so they can clear the board for new ideas. A few are brilliant, a few are terrible, but many are just okay. Twingiant's "Sin Nombre" is a good and worthy effort, but it is not their best. It is simply a snapshot in time and should not be judged as the limit of their ability to write great tunes, which they have certainly proved capable of in the past.
Final Score: 7/10
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