Francesco Amoroso per TRISTE©

American Cream Band was formed around thirteen years ago by Twin Cities musician Nathan Nelson. Its music emerged from improvised live performances that were later transformed into exhilarating, fully immersive studio albums. The band’s first three records, along with several singles and EPs, were released on labels such as Moon Glyph and Medium Sound. Presents, released in 2023, marked the first collaboration between Nelson’s collective and the esteemed label Quindi Records from Florence, Italy. With Twin, released on June 6, American Cream Band delivers what may well be its masterpiece to date. Built around the concept of duality, the album thrives on contrasts: movement and reflection, tension and release, masculine and feminine energies, all intertwined through the magnetic vocal interplay between Nathan Nelson and the outstanding Liz Buhmann. Drawing on krautrock, post-punk, funk, psychedelia, and art-pop, Twin balances bold experimentation with an immediate and infectious sense of groove. Tracks such as Don’t Burn the House Down and Ethical Vampire showcase the band’s dynamic, improvisational spirit, while the more contemplative moments reveal a sensitivity and subtlety that enrich the album’s overall vision. What makes Twin so compelling is its ability to reconcile opposites without sacrificing momentum or cohesion. Sonically rich, boldly expressive, and deeply collaborative, the album feels both expansive and focused: a celebration of connection, creativity, and collective energy in uncertain times. The illegitimate offspring of a collective sexual congress between early Talking Heads and The B-52s, American Cream Band channels a raw yet sophisticated energy that feels strangely out of time. Their music seems to belong to an era when optimism still outweighed disillusionment. In that sense, Twin may be the antidote we desperately need to escape the darkness and hopelessness that this filthy world has thrown us into.

Twin, track-by-track (by Nathan Nelson and Liz Buhmann)

“The union of opposites is the aim of the alchemical work.”  

Side A – Material

1. The Hive is Pissed

We toil all summer to have enough to get us through the winter. They give us drugs to make us docile enough to rob. We are starting to notice tho and the hive is pissed.  “Not your honey”

2. Elegant Automobile

We carefully drove through the blackest nights, we deliberately drove through the whitest days.  Now our foot is on the floor and the needle is in the red.  Buckle up, buttercup.

3. Call Me

‘Un dialogue de sourds’ – they are on the same line but can’t speak the same language. Proud ships passing in the night.

4. Ethical Vampire

No one is saying you have to change.  Just leave some blood behind.  Blood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonorable peace. Consider what is being given 😘

 

5. Don’t Burn the House Down

Fire can feel thrilling until someone else’s flame is approaching your home. Maybe we stop burning for a second.  Where we live is not your play thing.

Side B – Spiritual

6. No Funeral Necessary

Tired of fighting my possession.  All out of sage.  Come meet the ghost.  It’s probably still me. 

7. Birthday

The pressure drops, I feel your breath. My dear funnel friend. Round and round, don’t put me down. It’s such a bore just to survive.

8. Ms. Masterless

The Ocean doesn’t have a boss.  Unconsciously she rages and rests.  Noah’s floods have not yet subsided.

9. Leda and the Swan

“While ponderous planets of unwaning woe revolve around me, deep down and deep inland there I still bathe me in eternal mildness of joy”

10. We’re Not So Sinister

We are not the other that is harming you.  Fear keeps you on the phone. Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony. We’re not so sinister.

Twin is out now via Quindi Records. Look HERE for more information on American Cream Band.