Twisted Teens The Holy Cross Tigers
Released Nov 6, 2026 Sub Pop Records
Consensus forming 3 professional reviews Updated Nov 11, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. Twisted Teens make The Holy Cross Tigers a rough-edged, emotionally alert record, where country-rock exuberance keeps colliding with heartbreak.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
I Spend My Time Crying
3 critic mentions
“Honeywell pictures himself as a bird on the loose in “I Spend My Time Crying,” a wistful lament for an urban cowboy.” — Slant Magazine
When We First Met
3 critic mentions
“Both songs exude a familiar gestalt – punk, country, DIY, the singer-songwriter open mic – yet also land as eccentrically fresh and uniquely exhilarating.” — Beats Per Minute
Lock And Key
2 critic mentions
“The one halfway through the mariachi-esque “Lock and Key” is janglier than the others but no less alive.” — Slant Magazine
Full critic consensus
Twisted Teens make The Holy Cross Tigers a rough-edged, emotionally alert record, where country-rock exuberance keeps colliding with heartbreak. Its 77/100 consensus score across three professional reviews points to a warmly received, if not flawless, album: critics praise its scruffy energy and the way merriment and melancholy share the same songs.
Reviewers hear pop, punk, swampy rock, blues, and country ingredients settling into a more distinctive sound. Ramshackle guitars and plainspoken delivery give the songs an unvarnished feel, while their catchy momentum rarely smooths over the hurt beneath. Romantic disappointment, loneliness, nostalgia, and betrayal recur throughout, often in lyrics that hold pleasure and pain together rather than choosing between them. The result feels both familiar and eccentrically fresh, with a sneaky emotional richness beneath its loose, rough’n’ready surface.
The best songs on The Holy Cross Tigers include “I Spend My Time Crying,” whose buoyant country-rock groove sharpens its ache, and “When We First Met,” a rollicking, country-fried recollection that can sound like a celebration of new love or a whiskey-soaked lament for what followed. “Lock And Key” turns betrayal into a forceful, righteous burst, while its lively guitar solo adds another shade to the album’s scrappy palette. Critics also single out the raucous, reflective “Look in the Mirror” and the bruised blues of “Darker The Night Is The Brighter I See.”
There is some reservation: one reviewer finds certain sonic detours less convincing, as though pasted onto the songs. Still, the critical consensus favors a lively, human collection whose roughness serves its emotional contradictions. The reviews below explore why its strongest tracks linger between a good time and a bad memory.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Stalks
When We First Met
Be An Angel
Blue Rose
I Spend My Time Crying
Blue Flower
I Bring
Look In The Mirror
Lock And Key
Figure It Out
Armed With A Vision
Every Flower
Darker The Night Is The Brighter I See
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Twisted Teens streamline their multifacetedness on The Holy Cross Tigers, integrating pop, punk, swampy rock, and muddy blues while honing a signature overlay or imprint. The best songs on The Holy Cross Tigers include “I Spend My Time Crying,” whose initially jammy, primitivistic welter grows cumulatively sublime, even transcendent, and “Look in the Mirror,” raucous yet ruminative, with a melody catchy in an unflashy way. “When We First Met” is a messy, prickly, country-fried testament to the highs of new romance and the lows of loss; these songs exude a familiar gestalt yet land as eccentrically fresh and uniquely exhilarating.
Key Points
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“I Spend My Time Crying” is the standout, its initially jammy, primitivistic welter growing cumulatively sublime, even transcendent.
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The album’s core strength is how it streamlines a range of influences into songs that feel eccentrically fresh and distinctly its own.
Themes
Critic's Take
Twisted Teens are still running hot even as the heart has grown cold on The Holy Cross Tigers, where the best songs keep merriment and melancholy in the same room. “I Spend My Time Crying” pairs a chipper country-rock groove with a line that makes the barstool feel like an interzone between pleasure and pain. The rollicking “When We First Met” is either a lovably nostalgic ode or a whiskey-soaked heartbreaker, with steel guitar trying to slow the runaway train long enough to linger on those warm first-date memories.
Key Points
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“When We First Met” is the standout for the way its steel guitar slows the runaway momentum and lets the song linger on warm first-date memories.
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The album’s core strength is the tension between chipper, rollicking sounds and heartbreak’s melancholy.
Themes
Critic's Take
Twisted Teens keep things simple on The Holy Cross Tigers, though the ramshackle guitars and plainspoken delivery belie a sneaky richness. The best songs on The Holy Cross Tigers have more than meets the eye: “Figure It Out” makes its repetitive riff and lyric feel elusive, while the halfway-through solo on “Lock and Key” is janglier than the others but no less alive. “When We First Met” leaves out important details, and the forlorn reflection on better days is enough to suggest how dark things have gotten. The guitar work on “I Bring,” “Every Flower,” and “Stalks” complements the aching humanity, disappointment, and betrayal of the lyrics, even if some sonic deviations feel pasted on.
Key Points
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“Figure It Out” is a standout because its repetitive guitar riff and lyric give way to a meaning that ultimately proves elusive.
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The album’s sturdy songwriting and lively blend of country, blues, roots rock, and punk make its ramshackle directness richer than it first appears.
Themes
Critic's Take
Twisted Teens make The Holy Cross Tigers a messily tasty set of numbers, with momentum and emotion running through its country gravy and punk gristle. The best songs on The Holy Cross Tigers include “When We First Met”, a shout-out-loud toe-tapping belter about the blissful early days and the drunk, sad loneliness of remembering them. “Lock And Key” turns betrayal into a blown-out slab of righteousness, while closer “Darker The Night Is The Brighter I See” funnels disappointment into an emotionally broken blues. Fabulously fuzzy, catchy, pacy and rough’n’ready, this is all free and wonderfully entertaining.
Key Points
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“When We First Met” stands out as a shout-out-loud, toe-tapping belter, turning early romantic bliss and its aftermath into a catchy song.
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The album’s core strength is its momentum and emotion, blending country gravy, punk gristle and bluesy roughness.