Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!

A scientific study of the two-piece indie-rock boom

Comments (0) By Alie Ward Thursday, May 11 2006

The reality for all population booms is that exponential growth cannot sustain itself and must drop off at some point -- sometimes abruptly and mercilessly. The future of pair-popularity is dependent on many factors:

a. Will interest in novelty duos wane?

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b. Will audiences grow tired and weary from too much pent-up sexual tension?

c. Will we crave bass lines again?

Most likely, the duos who survive the inevitable drop in two-piece-fan fascination will be those best able to adapt and cultivate a richer sound as demand necessitates. But as any giddy dork in a lab coat will tell you, the beauty of each individual specimen lies in the unique qualities that distinguish it from its neighbor, be it a butterfly or a dung beetle, a two-piece or an orchestra. And at the end of the day, for bands, it all comes down to whether they can rock you.

Genus Two-Piece: An Overview

The genus Two-Pieceincludes several species. Below are some of the most popular of the current era, though evidence suggests variations could, theoretically, be infinite.

Two-Piece muchosexualis: The Raveonettes, the Kills, Fame, Jucifer, Mates of State, Quasi and married electronica duo Madison Park;

Two-Piece justfriendsicus: Giant Drag, the Dresden Dolls, I Want a Hovercraft;

Two-Piece sausage festali: Death from Above 1979, the Black Keys, Two Gallants, Om, Oppenheimer, Swearing at Motorists;

Two-Piece incesticus: Fiery Furnaces, prehistoric specimens the Carpenters and at one point the White Stripes (later controversially reclassified, much to the humiliation of musical scientists duped by previous research). Note: Also frequently misclassified here is Canadian lesbian twin-sister act Tegan and Sara, who are not in fact a true two-piece, as they employ backing musicians both in the studio and on tour. In this case, they represent a dazzling example of the evolutionary tactic mimicry.