10 Twin Peaks-Coded Bands You Need to Listen to

Listen to this article

Many have said it, but I don’t think it can be repeated enough: We lost one of the world’s greatest imaginations when David Lynch died last month. My first foray into Lynch-dom was via the cult television show Twin Peaks. As a teenager, I was at first baffled by the show’s tone—was it a mystery, a soap opera or a kooky comedy? Once I accepted that Twin Peaks was all and none of these, I found myself utterly enraptured by the world Lynch created.

Lynch understood the importance of music when cultivating a sense of place, and his longstanding creative partnership with Angelo Badalamenti was a testament to that. I hear those opening notes of the “Twin Peaks Theme,” and immediately I’m enveloped in the mists of the Pacific Northwest, with pine trees and jagged mountains on the horizon. This centering of music continued on with the artists playing at the Roadhouse, which became even more important in Twin Peaks: The Return. The third season ventures far beyond the fictional Washington town to New York, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, etc., so the tendency for episodes to finish at the Roadhouse with a different musician gracing the stage grounded the series and reminded us that, at the end of the day, this all started with the murder of a small town girl.

In the years since Twin Peaks ended, I’ve gravitated towards bands and artists that reminded me of the series I love so much. But what makes a Twin Peaks-coded musical act? In my mind, there are three different types—with plenty of exceptions and overlaps. Firstly, there are the ethereal, almost twee singers who feel transported from another time (Julee Cruise). Then, there are the bands David Lynch liked, the type of acts who would play the Roadhouse—usually rock(abilly), with some dream pop and other genres thrown in (Cactus Blossoms, Chromatics, etc.). And, finally, we have the otherworldly synth acts that evoke the same sort of dread and wonder as Angelo Badalamenti’s hypnotic score.

Boy Harsher

At first listen, Georgia electropop duo Boy Harsher may seem a little heavy to be a potential Roadhouse act. However, considering Nine Inch Nails played in The Return, they’re actually a perfect fit. Vocalist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller’s dark wave sound emits a chilling melancholy reminiscent of Badalamenti’s haunting soundtrack. With their cinematic sonic tastes, it’s no surprise that Boy Harsher directed and soundtracked their own horror film, The Runner, in 2022. And I have to say, I can imagine Dale Cooper’s evil doppelganger, Mr. C, listening to Boy Harsher on his way to commit yet another dastardly deed.

Donna Blue

Dutch duo Donna Blue aren’t shy about their love of David Lynch—in fact, the band is named for Laura Palmer’s best friend, Donna Hayward. There’s a bit of psychedelic ‘60s sleaze to their sound—think yé-yé meets Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra—but what really sells Donna Blue’s Twin Peaks potential is their love of romantic, borderline mystical storytelling. The tales they weave are steeped in a full-throated melodrama that Lynch himself would surely admire. The pair released their debut album, Dark Roses, in 2022, and just last year put out their rapturous retro-pop record Into the Realm of Love.

Elaine Malone

Listen to the silvery guitar, soft brushes of percussion and Irish artist Elaine Malone’s devil-may-care delivery on “My Baby’s Dead (Redux)” with your eyes closed, and you can easily picture Audrey Horne herself dancing along to the languorous melody. Malone’s psych-folk masterpiece Pyrrhic (2023) is a ghostly, mesmerizing album that invites you to step into seedy backrooms and pitch-black forests, exploring whatever may lay in the shadows. And if that’s not enough Malone for you, there’s plenty more for you to check out, including her experimental drone project Mantua and the krautrock band pôt-pot.

Jerkcurb

English illustrator and musician Jacob Read, a.k.a. Jerkcurb, grew up and has collaborated with King Krule, and his music boasts a similarly inviting, lackadaisical quality. His only album, 2019’s Air Con Eden, sways romantically, carried along by twangy guitars and Roy Orbison-inspired melodies. The LP closer, “Night on Earth,” feels particularly well-suited for a ‘50s sock hop—or perhaps a school dance at Twin Peaks High. While Read has been a bit quiet on the release front lately, he toured with King Krule in 2023, and hopefully this year promises more dreamy tunes from Jerkcurb.

Mason Ramsey

You may balk at the Walmart yodeling kid being on the list, but have you heard his debut album? That kid would kill at the Roadhouse! Mason Ramsey taps into the mid-century Americana that Lynch loved so much with his faithful rockabilly and country sound on I’ll See You in My Dreams. There’s clearly a love for both genres here, the same way that Lynch had an unironic adoration for that time period. Ramsey would be right at home on the Roadhouse stage, bathed in an azure spotlight while singing his gorgeous, lovelorn tune “Blue Over You.”

Rachael Lavelle

Lynch’s work is often billed as being surreal or dream-like, so it’s only appropriate that Rachael Lavelle, whose celebrated debut album is entitled Big Dreams, makes the list. The Dublin singer, songwriter and producer weaves a gossamer-light tapestry of tones on the record; her voice is more idiosyncratic than Julee Cruise’s, but evokes the same feeling of being dropped into an alternate dimension. The track “Sleepy Gal” in particular, with its radiant, celestial synths and shimmering splashes of piano, reminds me of the lighter moments on Cruise’s landmark album Floating into the Night.

Reverend Beat-Man

Usually I’d associate Reverend Beat-Man with another favorite show of mine, The Righteous Gemstones, because his cover of Venom’s “Black Metal” features on the comedy’s soundtrack. However, once you delve deeper into the Swiss artist’s back catalog, it becomes obvious that Reverend Beat-Man is made to sing at The Power and The Glory, the seedy bar that Laura and Donna visit in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with some potential johns. His voice is a guttural, gravelly growl over sordid, sweaty blues rhythms.

Sally Shapiro

The first time I heard Sally Shapiro’s delicate, angelic voice, I felt a spine-tingling awe that I only associate with one other artist: Julee Cruise. Sally Shapiro is, in fact, a duo: the Swedish vocalist, who remains unnamed and shies away from the spotlight, and producer Johan Agebjörn. Their synthpop sound often veers into Italo disco, but all wrapped in a cool, detached haze that reminds me of Laura’s obscured image at the beginning of The Return credits. She’s there, she’s beautiful, but she’s just out of reach—and Sally Shapiro’s ephemeral music instills the same desperate longing.

scntfc

Seattle-based artist Andrew Rohrmann, better known as scntfc, is an accomplished video game composer, and it was through playing Oxenfree—set in the Pacific Northwest, just like Twin Peaks, and also exploring interdimensional travel—that I first experienced his music. His releases (including the Oxenfree soundtrack and its sequel, but especially his 2020 electronica album Broken Circle) showcase synths’ atmospheric capabilities, plumbing moody, menacing depths before soaring into the stratosphere. Rohrmann’s work expands the mind, making you question the boundaries of reality.

Shana Cleveland

Fans of Seattle band La Luz will be familiar with Shana Cleveland, who plays guitar and sings lead vocals with the surf-rock group. La Luz have always evoked the strange and surreal, but Cleveland goes even further out with her solo releases. Her 2019 album Night of the Worm Moon revels in the liminal and the nightmarish (much like Lynch), with lyrics such as, “I’ve always been here / Stuck inside the wall / I watch you breathe / You never noticed me at all.” Sweeping yet soothing, her music is an oneiric kaleidoscope that incorporates psych folk and gothic pop, but without ever being bound to any one genre.

Clare Martin is a cemetery enthusiast and Paste’s associate music editor.