Twin Shadow - Forget reviews
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| Pitchfork |
 George Lewis, Jr.'s self-described bizarre and lonely childhood forms the backdrop for his work as Twin Shadow, and he uses the sounds of the past as a foundation. But while the 26-year-old Brooklynite's music is steeped in 1980s new wave-- he sometimes takes on Morrissey's vocal tone and phrasing, and threads of British bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and Depeche Mode run through his songs-- Lewis does well by this much-revisited era. Simplicity is part of what carries it over. On Forget, his debut full-length, he mostly sticks with a small collection of synth sounds-- strings, organ, piano, and brass-- along with electric guitar and drum machine. The instruments are clean, shimmery, and carefully placed. With Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor handling production, this limited palette proves to be more than enough to work with, and each song is immediately distinguishable from the others. Lewis' execution is immaculate, and he manages to make these familiar sounds into something that sounds refreshing and even dazzling.
The hotel-room production is ideally suited to the subject matter, matching the charged emotions of the lyrics. "Yellow Balloon" is full of vignettes from youth-- "If you hear your mama calling/ Get away from me/ Secret handshakes/ The swimming hole"-- and the icy atmosphere, along with a creepy piano line, suggests that these memories aren't necessarily good ones. On another standout, "Tether Beat", a ghostlike synth ranges around in the lower registers as Lewis asks over and over, "Does your heart still beat?" Album highlight "Castles in the Snow" creates a metaphor from the imagery of the title, using sharp hi-hats, handclaps, piercing strings, and bird-like vocal calls to show that everything the narrator touches "turns cold." Such details dominate about half the album, creating a mood that is often nostalgic, regretful, and even sinister....full text |
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| Thephoenix |
| Those who were hanging around the music scene in Allston around 2004 may be surprised to discover that the George Lewis Jr. behind Twin Shadow is indeed the same George Lewis Jr. who fronted Mad Man Films back in an earlier life. But though he's traded his previous band's Tom Waitsy storytelling for a sleeker, '80s-new-wave-mining synth-pop, he still retains his herky-jerky sense of rhythm. Lewis's guitars and synths pop like firecrackers on "Shooting Holes at the Moon" and "At My Heels," and the drum arrangement helps to set the ominous mood of "Castles in the Snow." Now based in Brooklyn, he knows his way around a hook, and he has an ear for small moments that can elevate a song, like the handclaps in "I Can't Wait" and the guitar noodling underlying "Slow." Terrible Records head Chris Taylor, who produced Forget, deserves credit as well for helping with the album's airy, dreamy æsthetic. Lewis may be covering territory that a lot of other artists tread, but he's earnest and soulful, injecting the romantic lyrics with a smoothness that reminds me of Avalon-era Roxy Music. "When We're Dancing" could serve as the soundtrack to the climactic prom scene in whatever the 2010 equivalent of a John Hughes film is....full text |
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| Theowlmag |
We are a bunch of nostalgic, ’80s loving groupies, aren’t we? Generation Yers who have grown up, moved out and laid claim to indie music’s exciting rebirth just can’t get enough of lush, synth driven beats. Simplistic? Yes, but not completely out of bounds. Take Twin Shadow for instance. The lovable George Lewis, Jr. (aka Twin Shadow) nails the clean and beautiful pop that streamed from our siblings’ bedrooms and penetrated MTV’s amusing music videos.
His debut album Forget is heavy on the ’80s gravy train. Forget isn’t as sparse as some of the albums put out by the legendary Factory Records, but not as glossy or slick as British New Wave kings Duran Duran or Soft Cell, but closer to Depeche Mode’s provocative electro-pop. “Tether Beat” falls into the latter. Lewis’ somber vocals are heavily layered with a mechanical synth beat that Dave Gahan would just love to broad over....full text |
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