Twin Shadow - Forget

  by Tara McEvoy

published: 13 / 11 / 2010

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Review

A citizen of the Dominican Republic via Florida, with a penchant for synths, a taste for tight t-shirts and the best moustache this side of 2010 – if you don’t yet think of George Lewis Jr. aka Twin Shadow, as a force to be reckoned with, you should think again. Kicking off debut offering ‘Forget’ with a pounding, tribal tattoo of drums, Lewis soon sets out his mission statement – he’s here to deliver tunes which will move your feet, and tug your heartstrings in equal measure. At times, the off kilter synthesisers he features may sound like they’ve been plucked from a dodgy 70's detective drama, but any doubt in his ability is eradicated by hauntingly atmospheric steel drums, and above all by Lewis’s vocals themselves, which ache with a nostalgia, a wistfulness which is almost painful to witness. There are, however, the obligatory indie dance floor fillers included, too, none more so than ‘When We’re Dancing’ a slow burning eighties groove not too far from something Hercules and the Love Affair, even Active Child, could have turned out, mesmerising in its tendency to hark back to bygone decades, yet both tormented lyrics and woozy, overbearing distortion ensure that the album at no point slips into cliché. Highlights include the divine ‘Castles in the Snow’, the eerily coercive ‘Yellow Balloon’, the Morrissey, almost Ian Curtis-esque vocals on ‘Slow’, and the languid ‘At My Heels,’ which brings to mind fellow Floridians Black Kids. He too may have grown up in the sunshine state, but Twin Shadow’s music is weathered with enough bleak despair to grant the album depth – standout track ‘Tether Beat’ sees Lewis exorcising his inner demons ("Is your heart not heavy when she says Goodbye?’") on a beautiful piece which doffs its cap to dubstep, resplendent of spacious beats, echoed vocals and economic yet heartbreaking vocals. This is an album which both ushers in one act amongst a raft of new, exciting prospects, and also ensures Twin Shadow in particular as an artist you’re not likely to forget anytime soon.

Track Listing:-

1 Tyrant Destroyed
2 When We're Dancing
3 I Can't Wait
4 Shooting Holes
5 At My Heels
6 Yellow Balloon
7 Tether Beat
8 Castles In The Snow
9 For Now
10 Slow
11 Forget

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