There's something strangely nostalgic about the music of Twig Palace. I don't mean that it evokes the ‘60s or that they remind me of any one band in particular, but rather they make me feel like I wa young again - back when I was just discovering music and the most radical thing I could do was hear a folk-pop band.

At the time, I was hardly familiar with anything that wasn't on the radio, and an act that traded in gently emotive vocals, quietly impressive guitar work and haunting group-singing just about epitomized all that I couldn't find on mainstream airwaves.

Of course I was naïve, but being introduced to indie rock was, to me, a very real culture shock. Twig Palace make me feel (in a comforting way)  like I'm a teenager again, like when I would pop a new band into my portable CD player and lie on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, soaking in all the new sounds.

Twig Palace started out as a recording project between Olympia regulars Colleen Johnson and Evan Hashi, resulting in their debut self-titled LP. Music-wise, it may best be described as rhythmic folk-pop. The worst sleepy nature of folk is staved off by an active percussion section and occasional dips into the jagged tones of a band like Modest Mouse.

In the forefront, taking turns with the lead, are the sweet voices of Johnson and Hashi, and the ways in which they beautifully intertwine. Their lyrics are intimate, but avoid preciousness through playful tunes like in "What the Turtle Tolled Me," where they end the song by spiritedly counting out the time signature.

"It started off with Colleen's songs," says Hashi. "And then, sort of for fun, I added a bunch of stuff on top of it. We basically turned into a band after that."

It isn't obvious how loose their collaboration is, to listen to Twig Palace. The album is supported by very strong songwriting; the songs are given room to breathe, to roam, but are always reined in at precisely the right moment.

How refreshing it is, this band that makes me remember.

Twig Palace and Kendl Winter, Margy Pepper, Eric Freas

Thursday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m., Free, Northern, 

321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org