Two Shell’s breakout single “home” stopped me in my tracks when it came out a couple years ago. Zany, frenetic, and unexpectedly moving, “home” felt genuinely fresh. It wasn’t quite hyperpop, not quite UK garage — rather, Two Shell took the best elements of those genres, along with a killer sample of CHINAH’s melancholy alt-R&B gem “Away from Me”, and gave us a novel spin on 2020s dance music. Endlessly replayable, “home” quickly became my favorite song of the year.
In the time since, Two Shell have put out two strong EPs, 2022’s Icons and 2023’s lil Spirits, and continued to grow in popularity and critical acclaim. The duo itself remains secretive and puckish, almost always hidden behind goofy masks and sunglasses like a janky, off-brand Daft Punk. But their irreverent personas belie a deep knowledge and appreciation of dance music, and an incredible adeptness for creating songs that are equal parts infectious and confounding.
This year, the duo put out two more singles, including their highest profile collaboration to date and my favorite Two Shell track since “home”, the stellar FKA Twigs-fronted “Talk to Me.” Twigs is one of the most reliably affecting singers in popular music today and has delivered some of the most heartrending songs in recent memory (“Cellophane” still wrecks me). So it’s no surprise that her vocal feature on “Talk to Me” drips with rejection and yearning.
Despite their typical impish inclinations, the duo’s production complements Twigs’ vulnerable vocal performance remarkably well. They serve up just the right amount of synth stabs, pummeling drums, and fat bass without ever overpowering their collaborator. “Talk to Me” is a testament to Two Shell’s versatility, and prove that the duo remain one of the most exciting groups operating in electronic music today.
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