I have been listening to Twin Shadow’s new album Forget on repeat for almost a week now and have been struggling to pinpoint exactly what about it is so comforting, so natural, so sexy. Among a string of hazy, referential pop music what has made Twin Shadow stand out?
Firstly, it’s the sound, and the strength of it across the entirety of the album. It is hazy in the way a myriad of sun-drenched tribal-referencing artists coming out of the States are. However, it marries similar elements in a way entirely separate from the aforementioned. Songs cemented with synthesizers are given an 80’s post punk edge with aggressive guitar melodies embedded in a blanket of professional, eloquent production. Tracks like ‘Slow’ meander along in romantic, balladry form, letting the impressive lyrical countenance speak for itself. But these tracks are slipped in between singles, in spades, which is simultaneously something the rest of the ‘One To Watch’ pack lack. ‘At My Heels’ is a wonderously uplifting example, all searing, meaningful chorus cemented within a bed of drum machines and flittering, star-like synthesizers.
Secondly, main man George Lewis screams sexualized front man akin to those from the time period Twin Shadow’s musicality references – the 80’s baby. And this to me is the crux of their schtick. Seldom are we presented with new artists who have the self-assurance to write aggressive pop album about romance and the like, and really front them, stand by them, promote them with the sexual energy and unabashed pride they deserve. Like Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker, or Edwyn Collins, Lewis enters the music making process intelligently – cultural cornerstones, self-analyzing and philosophizing are lyrical cornerstones - but exits it with a finished product oozing unreserved emotions.
Subsequently, it’s the combination of these two elements that make Forget so strong. It takes the strengths of early Brit pop – pretension, intelligence, atmosphere – and the musical countenance of now, and creates something that, rather than being impressive for the parts it has borrowed, is impressive for the way it has combined them to form a unique, impressive and FUN album.
