Ears Wide Open: TWO

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TWO

The sure-to-be-impossible-to-google duo TWO could just as easily be called “Two-Thirds,” since the principals, Aja Volkman and Dan Epand, go back a long way in the trio Nico Vega. Epand took over for original drummer Michael Peña (yes, the actor) in 2007 and manned the kit for two albums and two EPs.

Initially, the Volkman-Epand collaboration was called Twenty Two, but today brought the release of the single “Phoenix,” the first song from TWO’s debut EP, “Pull the Knife Out,” coming in June. While Volkman’s vocals used to rattle roofs and tingle spines in the heyday of Nico Vega, they’re more a controlled burn, though no less evocative, behind Epand’s stomping percussion on “Phoenix.” It’s reminiscent of current artists such as Bishop Briggs (with more restrained production) and Lauren Ruth Ward.

“I took a long departure from heavier music. Mainly because having kids really took all of my creative energy,” says Volkman, the mother of four children with Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds. “Dan [Epand] and I have always remained close and supportive of each other. He has been my cheerleader for over a decade. Over the last few years, we have had some things brewing, and it finally feels like the right time to open the gates. We are ready to take people on a journey.”

Says Epand: “Aja and I have a lot of history working together. … So when we started this new band, we didn’t really know what it was going to be… which is the best place to start! With ‘Phoenix,’ it seemed to naturally bridge the acoustic, singer-songwriter vibe of some of Aja’s solo music, with some big drums and the bombastic intensity of Nico Vega. It felt like a step in a new direction. It was the launching off point for this new collaboration.”

||| Stream: “Phoenix”