Twin Shadow - Forget
- Written by Greg Johnson
Forget, the debut release from George Lewis Jr., aka Twin Shadow, is the nostalgic love child of a time warp and a mix tape that revels in that forever reborn ‘80s aesthetic that just refuses to fade away. The way in which Lewis and his Grizzly Bear producer/collaborator, Chris Taylor, have gone about assembling these eleven tracks has created an album that pays homage to its inspiration without belittling its tracks or forgoing substance in favour of paper thin imitation. This is not some cringe ridden day-glo pastiche in leg warmers but more akin to the likes of Washed Out and their captivating reworkings of twenty-odd year old textures and sounds into something so fresh and alive.
As opening track ‘Tyrant Destroyed’ begins to stretch out into life, some listeners may find one man stands in their way of the music. That man is Matt Berry and, in all seriousness, if you have any knowledge of ‘One Track Lover’ or Snuffbox it will plague you throughout the opener, which is a shame. Once past the unfortunate connotations, ‘Tyrant Destroyed’ is a nicely weighted track that eases the listener in with its steady building up of the layers and textures that converge into something almost Bowie-esque by its conclusion.
Throughout Forget the balance between the glassy synths, wailing guitars and deep, woody bass manages to eke out and define the sound and character of each part brilliantly, as they fuse and meld atop the rigid yet vivid drum patterns beneath. The vocals drift in personality with almost every track, phasing in and out of the aforementioned influence of Bowie into the embellished melodramatics of Morissey as well as touching upon the chesty warblings of Dave Longstreth. Somehow it still sounds coherent.
All eleven tracks are worthy of a visit beyond the stand out offerings: ‘When We're Dancing’ is Blondie bass lines and broken, leaky Christmasy synths that sound like they were found on a dodgy, battered VHS tape and played back with the tracking well and truly out; ‘I Can't Wait’ borrows the drums and spiky attitude of ‘She's Lost Control’ before whacking a monster of a chorus straight out of the Arcade Fire playbook into its midst, leaving you wondering why such an obviously great idea had never hit you before hindsight had set in.
Another highpoint is ‘Yellow Balloon’ with it's main chordal hook sounding like something the Gibb brothers might have falsetto'd to death back in their heyday, spruced up and mellowed out with a crystallised chorus and tape-machine-spaceship buzz-saw of a synth sound. Sitting a little lower in the track-listing, ‘Castles In The Snow’, with its destroyed brassy bass, child-like response vocal and atmospheric, screaming almost-strings, has a “this is serious shit” neo-Gangster's Paradise vibe that runs through its core. The song feels as if its been brainwashed by Twin Shadow and turned into a hijacked counterpoint to the tracks around it, breaking up the progression of the album nicely. Title track ‘Forget’ is also the closer, dripping with synths that bleed in and out of tune as it slowly builds momentum before falling down to its final resting place at 3:50.
Twin Shadows' debut is a compelling blend of influences and inspiration backed up with a songwriting sophistication and nous that steers clear of the cheap and cheerful shortcuts that would only demean its quality. Forget is a spectacular first release well worth picking up at the first opportunity.