Twin Danger's 2015 self-titled debut showcases the Brooklyn duo's smoky, neo-noirish jazz- and R&B-infused sound. Formed in 2013,
Twin Danger is a collaboration between longtime
Sade guitarist/saxophonist
Stuart Matthewman and vocalist/guitarist
Vanessa Bley. The daughter of jazz pianist
Paul Bley,
Vanessa Bley has a yearning yet cherubic vocal style that's matched with subtle precision by
Matthewman's sophisticated horn arrangements and nuanced instrumental accents. In some ways, their languid, stylish aesthetic does bring to mind the distinctive pop
Matthewman helped craft with
Sade in the '80s and '90s. However,
Twin Danger also have eclectic, wide-ranging tastes that -- while certainly steeped in the moody, midtempo, brushes-on-snare-drum swing of jazz -- can surprise, as on their torchy, theatrical reworking of
Queens of the Stone Age's "No One Knows." Elsewhere, on cuts like "Pointless Satisfaction," "Coldest Kind of Heart," and "When It Counts," you can also hear the influence of legendary cool jazz trumpeter/vocalist
Chet Baker and idiosyncratic singer/songwriter
Rickie Lee Jones. In fact, backing
Twin Danger on most of the tracks is longtime
Baker associate bassist
Larry Grenadier. Also joining
Twin Danger at various times are such virtuosic jazz and crossover pop sidemen as pianist
Gil Goldstein (
Billy Cobham,
Miles Davis,
Sting), trumpeter
Michael Leonhart (
Steely Dan,
Jens Lekman,
Rufus Wainwright), drummer
Joe Bonadio (
Sting,
Grover Washington, Jr.,
Chris Botti), and others. While
Twin Danger are by no means a straight-ahead jazz group, the inclusion of such experienced jazz musicians proves how much care
Matthewman and
Bley have taken in shaping an album that works as much more than a genre-bending conceit. Ultimately, with
Bley cooing at you through a half-lidded smile, and
Matthewman blowing smoke rings around her with his saxophone,
Twin Danger have crafted a jazz album perfect for the boozy, late-night afterglow of a rock club, a sound so besotted with heartache, you'll want to close your eyes in reverie. ~ Matt Collar