Daniel Knox – Half Heart: Songs from Twin Peaks Review

After my interview with Knox back in January, I should’ve seen a Twin Peaks inspired album coming from a mile off. He spoke with a candid love for the David Lynch series, and he connects this passion for the weird and otherworldly inhabitants of the surrealist 90s cult show with his latest album. The shows revival in the past few years for a third series has rightfully evoked some strong feelings from fans of the show, and Knox has crafted his latest album, Half Heart: Songs from Twin Peaks, as a response to his love for the show and its soundtrack.

Releasing his album on Twin Peaks Day 2020, his new album is crafted with obvious love for the show. Covers of various Twin Peaks songs construct a tight, nine song album. The album opens with a style of music that not only captures what I would imagine Twin Peaks feels like, but the very essence of Lynchian film. New Shoes/The Bookhouse Boys feels well suited, opening the album to a mysterious arc that follows through the ensemble of songs.

As a big fan of Knox’s lyrical style and voice, it’s great to hear it come under beautiful accompaniments in Into the Night. Forming with a slow, melodic beat, we’re thrown into brief cacophonies of explosive musical mixtures. This could’ve been an album of mere covers, but the frankly obvious love that Knox has for Twin Peaks elevates many of the songs to a level of genuine brilliance. The Nightingale and The World Spins. The rest of the album follows suit rather well. There’s a consistency to the album like no other, filled with great songs the whole way through.

My personal favourite song of the album is that aforementioned The World Spins, a beautifully engaging piece of music that relies on the slow beat of the music and the charming sounds of Knox and his stupendously brilliant voice. What always surprises me with his work is that his level of consistency is unrivalled, every song on the album has an important purpose, each working in their own unique way.

I’ve only watched a little bit of Twin Peaks. I was actually going to watch it this week while off ill, but I opted to catch up on Studio Ghibli movies and The Young Pope. Capturing the style of Lynch in a musical format is no small feat, but if there were one man competent enough to take on such a monumental challenge, it’d be Daniel Knox. Yet another superb album that blends his booming, frankly superb voice with his ability to craft melodic tones and engaging music. A sure-fire treat for fans of Twin Peaks, but even those without the confident knowledge of the show will have a blast with some surrealist craft throughout Half Heart: Songs from Twin Peaks. Knox’s latest album may have given me the push needed to finally check out the show he has plucked and adapted these songs from.