Max Turnbull (born in 1988), better known by his stage name Slim Twig, is a Canadian songwriter, musician, and film actor, who has performed both as a solo artist and as the leader of Badge Époque Ensemble.

[1] He was born the son of Toronto-based filmmakers Ross Turnbull and Jennifer Hazel, and graduated from the Claude Watson School of the Arts in 2006.

In 2015, he released a cover version of Serge Gainsbourg's "Cannabis" as well as his fourth studio album, Thank You for Stickin' with Twig, both under DFA Records.

Slim Twig played 'Billy Zero' in the 2007 film, The Tracey Fragments, directed by Bruce McDonald and starring Elliot Page.

[12] In addition to Slim Twig-branded music, the artist played guitar and sang in the band, Tropics,[13] with Simone TB on drums.

[17] The earliest Slim Twig recordings were self-released in 2005 on a CD entitled Livestock Burn, and an EP, Dissonant Folk.

[21] A Now magazine review of the album called it “startlingly unique.”[22] Coinciding with the release of Contempt!, Slim created a free, downloadable “mixtape” EP entitled Spit It Twig!

In addition to co-releasing A Hound at the Hem, Calico Corp. released an EP, Flushing Meats, by Eric Copeland, and most recently, Zacht Automaat, a double LP by the eponymously named Toronto duo.

",[38] A Hound at the Hem has elsewhere been effusively praised as "a new masterpiece...one of the best post-glam concept albums not made in the slippery 70s”, and cited as critic Alan Ranta's choice for Canada's prestigious Polaris prize.

[39][40] The same writer, in reviewing the album subsequent to DFA's re-release, stated that "Canada dropped the ball, failing to recognize the genius in its own backyard.

[44] Slim Twig has received considerable, occasionally polarized press coverage (in print and on the internet), with much of it recognizing his unusual adventurousness and artistry.

[48] In a review of the track "Gate Hearing," Exclaim.ca described him as evoking "Jon Spencer's rockabilly punk chic and Genesis P. Orridge's extreme mixed-media weirdness.

"[52] Slim Twig's early interest in experimentation appeared to challenge critics looking to situate him in a pop music context.

"[54] Critics also have suggested the influence of cinema on Slim Twig, with one remarking on “is compulsive soliloquist's flair, a direct but static-filled line into a collective cinematic unconscious.”[55] Indeed, in speaking about his creative approach, the artist cited his admiration for David Lynch's work.