Twin Peaks' next big adventure

May 06--Chicago band Twin Peaks hasn't settled down, and that makes each of its three albums feel like new adventures.

All the way back in 2013 when they were still teenagers, the four co-founders of Twin Peaks released "Sunken," a homemade record that sounded like a hit-and-run accident, a scuzzy celebration of what it means to be young and in love with rock 'n' roll. At maximum low-fi, the melodies on the debut album had to fight to be heard.

The band's songwriting chops became more apparent on the 2014 follow-up, "Wild Onion." Beyond the cleaner (but hardly slick) production, the album explored more nuanced, dreamier textures on tracks such as "Strange World" and "Ordinary People."

"Down in Heaven" (Grand Jury) takes those ambitions a step further, toward a greater emotional openness, which sounds improbable for a band still noted for its unhinged live performances. The new album recasts the band in a more melodic and contemplative vein, with acoustic guitars and the keyboards of new addition Colin Croom assuming prominence. Clay Frankel, Cadien Lake James, Jack Dolan and Croom have not only been working on their harmonies, but also range into falsetto like they've been studying their parents' Smokey Robinson records. They still can wail like it's last call, but there's a tenderness as well that couldn't have been imagined on "Sunken." Lyrical guitars and backing vocals make "Wanted You" a yearning soul ballad. "My Boys" hints at doo wop and "Butterfly" echoes the wordless vocal hooks of '60s titans such as the Mamas and Papas.

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The range in the vocals can in part be attributed to the wider latitude allowed by the arrangements. This largely self-produced band has figured out how to let its songs breathe, and recognized that not every tune has to be a three-minute assault. A living-room intimacy, underpinned by Connor Brodner's empathetic drumming, prevails on the warmly ramshackle "Getting Better," the dream-like "You Don't" and the we're-all-in-this-together camaraderie conveyed by "Stain," one of the band's finest and most vulnerable moments.

"Down in Heaven" shakes off some of the swagger that comes with being a scuffling, in-it-for-kicks punk band and goes for something deeper and more intimate. The members of Twin Peaks are still developing their voices as songwriters, but the charm lies in how they're inviting their listeners in on the learning process.

Greg Kot is a Tribune Newspapers critic.

greg@gregkot.com

"Down in Heaven"

Twin Peaks

3 stars