The Sinister Turns are led by their beautiful voiced bassist, Sophie Besl, and make piano-driven indie pop/rock.  Their tunes are thoughtful and moody, but never melancholy, and have a subtle emotional intensity.  And they're strong by nearly any category of pop songwriting: lyrically, melodically and structurally interesting, without becoming burdened by their artistic efforts.  Many of the songs riff heavily on Ben Folds—with coursing, robust piano lines underlining highly articulate and heartfelt lyrics—but the likeness never becomes a detriment. 

The most striking thing about The Sinister Turns is how little affectation there is in their music.  They recall some of the popular indie music that came out in the early aughts — when emo was still happening and Feist was just becoming known as solo artist — music that was more a vehicle for the songwriter’s feelings than for twee aesthetics or danceable retro beats.  At the time there were a bunch of bands that were similar to each other in the fullness of their instrumentation and their reliance on more traditional rock forms.  It wasn’t a bad thing. It’s the atmosphere that gave us the Decemberists and the Arcade Fire, and saw the flourishing popularity of Neutral Milk Hotel. 

Even if The Sinister Turns never attain the status of those bands, they unquestionably write songs with the same kind of emotional candor that was a big part of what made those bands timeless. From the outlook of this LP, it seems almost certain that the band members themselves have the talent to take the songs wherever they need to go musically. Sophisticated piano pop for a new decade? Perhaps. 

--Alexander Pinto