Twin Noir live review

Twin Noir

Rhombus

Manchester Rebellion

April 3rd 2025

Live Review

In which a Berlin duo playfully take a walk on the dark side in the Manchester nigh time with their electro EBM meets guitars sonic collision.

Rebellion is such a great venue – a defiantly old school dark space where every high decibel band plays in Manchester. Nearly every night of the week there is some noisy riot going down in there and tonight, it’s the turn of Berlin’s Twin Noir. 

The Post-Punk/Wave/EBM duo were formed in the German capital in the times of the great plague in 2021. Claiming that ‘Their show is inspired by Berlin‘s club culture, Punk and Vaudeville, aiming to celebrate and manifest freedom, creativity and art’, they create the perfect synthesis between the electronics provided by an analog tape machine, a sampler, guitars and a theremin, and a cranked guitar and bass. The pulsating backing takes full advantage of the four to the floor kick drum to pump the dance floor rhetoric and adds keyboard flourishes and sound effects for the guitarist Cody Barcelona and bassist Ian Volt to add their sonic assault and vocals to. It’s highly effective, and their seductive sonic strutting has the club dancing and getting immersed in the band. 

You can hear hints of DAF’s classic pumping rhythms and sardonic vocal melodies and the crank of punk rock that is at the core of the impulsive compulsive beat. The hard touring band have honed their act down to a perfection with a dash of humour, some neat stage moves and holy roller banter complimenting the catchy anthems, with each song sounding like a hit from a parallel universe. 

They are hustling for a breakthrough, and with live shows as consistent as this, it’s no wonder it’s coming. Iggy Pop, of course, has played them on the radio, maybe because they remind him of his own Berlin period with the same kind of shadowy electro rock crossover and sonic cityscapes updated to the now. They should be on every festival bill, as they have the magnetic ability to win over an audience and can make the dark stuff so attractive.

We miss headliners TRAITRS due to another gig across town but catch the tail end of support, Rhombus, the hard working Yorkshire based Goth tinged band and Whitby Goth Weekend faves whose dramatic cimmerian cinemascope shivers are at the Sisters end of the gothic equation. Their dark forest of sounds is dramatically enticing and makes you want to see more, more, more…hopefully catch up soon…