Fresh out of more than a year of pandemic strife, the queer, pop duo TWINKIDS have re-emerged with their persistent, silky debut LP, Nobody Likes Me.
The L.A.-based pair, comprised of singer Jin Fukui and pianist-producer Matthew Young, weave an immensely rich combination of ’80s-inspired synths around the almost therapeutically breathy vocal tracks throughout the album with surprising, if not incredibly fun and interesting, production accents peeking out through the seven tracks.
As easy as it is to get lost in the dreamy atmosphere Fukui and Young establish from the first track, “I Know,” the rich pads embracing you slowly as you creep more and more into the song, there is an element of sadness through the album, a clear reflection of the duo’s introspection during this time.
“I think everyone struggles with intrusive thoughts and insecurity to some extent, but me and Jin have been thinking and talking a lot recently about how growing up queer encourages that type of thinking,” Young says. “It’s just a lot of not fitting in and, at some point, really accepting and internalizing that you’re an outsider, something about you is different, and maybe even that you’re deserving of that outsider-ness.”
The fact is, no matter how secure one is in their adult skin, these ideas can be persistent, and the album reflects the duo coming to terms with queerness, and all of the complicated emotions that come with growing into one’s self, as a part of their lives.
In the midst of these reflective conversations, the two also moved to Los Angeles to pursue music. Though most of the songs were not written during the pandemic, the release of Nobody Likes Me comes at a time where so many have exasperated emotions directly connected to the topics the album covers. They admit it was difficult to push through the creative process, especially while grappling with the ups and downs of coping with COVID-19.
“Last summer in particular was a really tough time during the pandemic,” Young says. “We knew so little, and in L.A. there was just this overarching sense of doom and fear. I started running outside a lot, with a mask, but even though there were a lot of people outside and distanced, everyone was clearly so afraid. One day, I turned a corner and some people coming in the opposite direction audibly screamed. That environment really got to me. I had some serious trouble getting to a creative place with all of that bouncing around outside and in my head.”
The duo pushed forward, the pandemic acting almost as liberation to fulfill the project. During the making of the record, the duo sometimes experienced the very feelings they wrote about, being in a new, unfamiliar place, and grappling with insecurities and doubts.
“Those voices are so easy to believe, and they can control your entire life no matter how hard you try to disempower them,” Young says. “With the songs on this album, we wanted to give life to that voice, and in doing so, hopefully to disempower it. We do think the album is very sad as a whole, but there’s something funny and light in there, too.”
The title track, for example, features a handful of self-deprecating lyrics like, “This little spec of doubt in my heart will surely grow and fester ’til I fall apart … All my friends are gone ’cause all of them wronged me. Or was it me who said too much? But sometimes I’m just not sure how to show my love,” the more you listen, the more these words resonate as conversations we end up having with ourselves, alone in our own heads.
“It suddenly becomes clear how ridiculous those words are, and yet, those really are the words those intrusive voices are telling us,” Young says. And the album still carries a persistent aura of hope, with songs like “I’m Not Confused” almost as an affirmation of struggle and persisting despite it.
“I started writing that song when I was so down, and needed someone to say to me the things that song says,” Young says. “If I’d been in a place to listen, I bet I would have noticed that my friends and loved ones were already saying those things to me— but in order to hear it, I needed to say them to myself.”
The album concludes with an homage to J-pop singer Mariya Takeuchi and a cover of her 1984 song “Shetland Ni Hoho Wo Uzemete,” also their second cover of a J-pop song, though they characterize it as a transcription over a full reinvention, citing the sounds of that era and region as a main influence on their music.
“I know Jin is inspired by the melodic and structural innovation of the songwriting [in J-pop], and I’m constantly trying to analyze the purity of arrangement and virtuosity in performance on those records,” Young says.
The record is a cohesive, enchanting treat, splicing together genres, heartfelt lyrics, and stellar, all-encompassing production to display TWINKIDS as an up-and-coming force in the industry. Nobody Likes Me is out now and available to stream or purchase.
Check out the title track, “Nobody Likes Me,” below:
For more from TWINKIDS, find them on Instagram, Facebook, or their official website.
Photos courtesy of TWINKIDS and Nina Raj.
