The Twindows: Valkyrie 2.0 Review: Epic Grunge Punk

If you thought female-fronted punk was dead, The Twindows will change your mind with their new album, “Valkyrie 2.0.” Combining elements of punk, grunge, scream-mo and classic rock, the PA-based foursome is just as talented as they are charismatic.

While the bass, guitar and drum work by Kouqi Esq, The Amazing Shaggs and Oskar Dauod is solid through and through and lends to the band’s immense polish, it is on the back of lead singer Aster Grimm that this band stands out of the crowd. The same way Gwen Stefani made No Doubt special (before she sold out) Grimm’s voice does the same for The Twindows. Almost impossible to describe, it’s like Joan Jett, a character from 90s flick “Clueless” and Coheed and Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez had a beautiful daughter together.

Able to be adorable one second and bite your throat out the next, all 11 tracks on this album are unpredictable, thanks to Grimm. Because of that, Valkyrie 2.0.” is easily one of the best indie punk albums of 2018.

But again, this band is more than just Grimm. The guitar, bass and drum work all shine through solos and create the environments needed for your ears to wander. Stereotypically, punk is not supposed to be about depth of sound. The Twindows, with no weak links in the band will cause your ears to wander- in the best way possible.

Simply put, every track feels different. Grimm plays with her voice a ton and is incredibly versatile. The same can be said for the drums, bass and guitars. The addition of sound effects on some tracks adds a layer as well, giving a few tracks a Nada Surf/Living Colour feel. All in all, this album disproof this band deserves radio time and a record deal.

Overall, sporting an amazing vocalist and plenty of instrumental polish, Valkyrie 2.0 is a smoke-filled, dropkick of a punk album that never lets up.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14263 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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