Album Review: Twin Shadow - Confess

Twin Shadow
Confess
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Back in 2010, George Lewis, Jr. a.k.a. Twin Shadow, released his debut album Forget to a flurry of rave reviews, crossing 80s new wave, synth-pop, shoegaze, and Prince-esque R&B into a heady mix that seemed both fresh and reverential at the same time. On tour, these songs were taken from their rudimentary bedroom pop origins and transformed into something fuller and more expansive. Based on his live show, and with his touring band in tow, I expected Lewis to change things up and really take his sound to the next level production-wise. Confess, his follow up to Forget, strangely doesn't really veer all that far from the template laid out in the debut. The production values, of course, are much better and cleaner, but there is still the feeling these tracks were recorded in the pre-dawn reflective hours, intimately documenting the thoughts and feelings of Lewis. Not that this is such a bad thing, it's just slightly disappointing that it is so similar in sound to Forget. In a press release, Lewis commented that Confess was made after a motorcycle accident he had while riding with a friend. During the accident, Lewis recalled "[t]he slow motion moments of calm just after surprise and just before regret are bliss. I remember in that moment I wanted to say everything to him. How could I say everything in a split second? How could I bury my words in his heart?” Where with Forget the lyrics were more impressionistic and open to interpretation, Confess is all about raw emotion and letting those once hidden feelings erupt at the surface. The music on Forget worked perfectly with the mood of the album, adding enough atmosphere and texture to support the lyrical themes. Returning to a similar palate on Confess creates a slight disconnect between the directness of the lyrics and the slick sheen of the music, which takes a bit of time to get accustomed to.

For the most part, though, the songs do work very well, especially on the front half of the record, but it does take a lot more effort to get to that point. First track "Golden Light" initially perplexes with its soft Caribbean accents and moody keyboards before the chorus hits with soaring washes of synths and strange vocal samples. Most of the songs on here are about the ins and outs of relationships. "Golden Light" about not falling for the "you complete me" view of coupling. Admonishing his lover "some people say there's a golden light/if I'm the golden light/if you chase after me
doesn't mean you can see."



First single and one of the album's highlights "Five Seconds" is where the album really should have been musically focused on. It is a driving, buzzy guitar/synth rocker that stands out among the other moodier numbers, Lewis wanting to get to know someone better before getting serious: "that’s no way to get it on/five seconds in your heart."



Confess works better on these more musical upbeat tracks, when the band seems looser and freer, and not trying to focus so much on recreating a perfect amalgamation of the 80s new wave/R&B sound they have already mastered. "The One" is a peppy slice of guitar pop, with a warm, inviting vocal from Lewis. "You Can Call Me On," is a spiky, warped guitar feast, Lewis' vocal twisted and manipulated into a mass of confusion and anger, attempting to get his lover back from some seeming addiction, "and I don't give a damn about the scene/it's my only way back to you." While "Beg For The Night" finds Lewis wanting the one he can't have, seeing his ex-lover falling in love with another, sighing "when this love starts/won't hurt anymore/will you need me again?"



Which is not to say that the album's more atmospheric tracks are somehow lesser; they are just not as immediate, and take a few listens to sink in. The wistful and melancholy "When The Movie's Over" features a gorgeous vocal from Lewis full of longing and regret.



"Run My Heart" has an aching, tender side that feels like an extension of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire," with Lewis trying to tell a girl that "I'm not in love" but whether he is trying to convince himself or her is left open to doubt.



Several times, however, Twin Shadow's lyrics can seem a bit too diary entry-like, with music that feels more like sketches or almost note for note recreations of music from the 80s. "Patient" has a painful disconnect between the juvenile lyrics and Prince-like demo music, while "I Don't Care" never overcomes its rather creepy tale of underage seduction ("you were looking to get it cuz your daddy's not home") or the fact that the melody seems cribbed from Bonnie Tyler's craptastic one hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart."



Ultimately, for me, Confess is an album that is easier to like than to love. There is nothing as striking as the singles from Forget, nor is it as consistently thrilling as that record as a whole. There is nothing to truly dislike here, it is a perfectly entertaining and at times beautifully done record, I just had a disconnect with it. I wanted more from Lewis, and unfortunately only got good instead of great. Oddly, it took the hidden track "Mirror In The Dark" for me to have the "A-HA" moment I was waiting for through the entire record. It is a soulful track with an easy groove, broken up by shards of atmospheric guitars and samples, that pointed a fresh, interesting direction I wished Lewis had explored more. Instead, Lewis stuck to the same familiar palate musically throughout the album, leaving me wanting.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.