Name: TWEN + MELANIE BAKER // The Cluny Newcastle
Start: 2024-10-10T19:30:00+01:00
Location: The Cluny

$TWEN + MELANIE BAKER \/\/ The Cluny Newcastle$

Twen is a van-lifeing rock band that emerged onto the east coast music scene in 2017 with their distinct blend of shoegaze, indie rock, and post-punk influences. Though the band was formed in 2016 by lead vocalist Jane Fitzimmons and guitarist Ian Rollins Jones, their emergence post-pandemic has marked the beginning of what is essentially an entirely new project; save for their keeping the name “Twen”.
This latest chapter is marked by the band booking their own tours, designing and screen printing their own merch, directing and editing their own music videos, and producing and mixing their own albums; all to a degree which would seem impossible to believe, if you didn’t know that they also built their own mobile-home from scratch and have been living in it, traversing the North American continent since 2020.
The duo-led 5 piece are readying their 3rd LP to be released in 2024, but have already debuted lead single ‘SeaStar’; an early 00’s throwback to Southern California beach anthems that finds the band further evolving from the coy, shoegaze aesthetics of ‘Awestruck’ (2019) – to a modern classicism; characterized on their 2nd LP ‘One Stop Shop’ (2022) by political (yet hopeful) lyrics, indelible hooks and a home-grown sonic mix that rewards the listener with each subsequent spin.
With over 350 shows under their belt across North America and Europe, including arena appearances supporting Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Wet Leg, Whitney, Tacocat, & White Reaper, Twen’s live show exhibits their all-around relevance as a DIY rock band thriving in the digital age.
With Support from Melanie Baker:
Melanie Baker is a singer, songwriter and musician hailing from the Lake District and now based in Newcastle-upon-tyne.
Her direct and honest lyricism captures themes such as queer identity, self-reflection and the anxieties of modern life. Her self-released music has so far received radio support from BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing and Radio X, as well as supporting the likes of dodie, Tessa Violet, Maisie Peters, Will Varley, Jen Cloher, Jesca Hoop and runnner.
Baker’s latest EP “Burnout Baby” is set to be released in April 2024 on Du Blonde’s indie record label Daemon TV, followed by her second headline UK tour in April with her newly formed band.
She wrote the songs on this EP about the process of struggling with intense burnout: the texts from friends waiting endlessly for a reply, the days lost to endless scrolling, the dying plants that just remind you that you’re not succeeding at taking care of anything. Amid real, raw pathos, there’s also a sense of lightness to Baker’s newly rocky full-band arrangements. These are songs that may never have existed had Baker not found a way to make music that excited her again, and that gives them tangible spark.