Tuesday 10 November 2009

Album Review- The Twilight Sad- Forget The Night Ahead


The thought of dogs eating their own faeces (as described on these pages) and, in the same breath, the latest Arctic Monkeys album, inspired me to write this latest review..
Combining Interpol's dark meanderings with Mogwai's tempestuous thunder is a description of a band's music that only ever existed in my head. However, not only do The Twilight Sad sound like this, but they then go and top it by writing obscure, slightly macabre tales about televisons being too loud, becoming a prostitute, and making sure not to spill any blood before dinner, to name but a few. They are straight from the Arab Strap school of depicting seedy Glaswegian nightlife, all delivered courtesy of James Graham's thick Scottish burr.
Reference points other than the ones above lie mainly in the Creation records camp of the early 90s, with the coruscating guitars of The Telescopes and the tumultuous rhythm section of Swervedriver coming to mind. I can only begin to wonder how this might all sound live. But it is not just all about the colossal sound. There is an eloquent sentimentality to the songs, despite some of the subject matter, and it is this articulate suggestiveness that carries the emotional depth of this album above most instrumental post-rock output, and firmly into the box I've marked as Top 10 albums of 2009.
Opening 3 tracks "Reflection of the Television", "I Became a Prostitute" (which is worthy of anyone's attention based on the title alone) and "Seven Years of Letters" are an awesome start to proceedings, and although this level of intensity couldn't possibly be maintained throughout the rest of the album (or else the band and its listeners would have had to go and have a lie down in a darkened room for an hour halfway through), the gorgeousness of the chorus in "That Room" is enough to make an overgrown man weep...
8.5 out of 11


24 comments:

  1. ahem......copy? just as a test you understand

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  2. I'm glad you prewarned be about the long words or I'd have you down as coruscating on thin ice mate.

    taadaa

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  3. Very good Paul, although I am hoping for some more serious abuse in due course.

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  4. I dont normally click on the links, but you convinced me there with the build up. I liked the first one, but wasnt too impressed with the second one, it went on a bit. Still, there wasnt much banging together of saucepans which is generally a plus. Unless there are bears about.

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  5. And...do you mean a copy of the album? Or a copy of my ridiculous posts before I publish them? Either is entirely doable, of course.

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  6. God know, just the album, no editorial stuff around here, unless of course you land a pile of poo in my tea.

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  7. It is an album almost entirely devoid of the misuse of saucepans, which is unusual for me..

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  8. That pile of poo was the best thing ever on here. Although the grinning dog runs it close.

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  9. I seem to have inadvertently performed a Two Ronnies sketch, involving Mastermind and a specialist subject of giving an answer to the previous question, rather than the current one.

    Anyway..moving on, I think you will find it was Pirmin Zubriggen.

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  10. I had two 'that's disgusting' in 20 seconds, quickly followed by a Bleugh.

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  11. Excellent I'm a Ronnie Too, what was Pirmin Zubriggen?

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  12. My next question is who won the 1987 Grand Slalom world title?

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  13. And it was fake dog poo.

    He runs a hotel these days.

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  14. Was it Franz Klammer? I give Franz Klammer as my stock answer to nearly all skiing related questions in sports quizzes, only interspersing it with Pirmin Zubriggens every now and again, in order to portray a deep and varied knowledge of European skiing to my fellow team members. I know it definitely wasn't Eddie Edwards, for he was rubbish. We could have launched anyone in the UK off one of those jumps and they would have flown further than he did.

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  15. No, Franz Klammer is the response you give whenever anyone says "He's gone downhill, you know"

    In true Two Ronnies stylee you answered the question correctly before I asked it.

    Right, next one. What did Max Mosely say to the dominatrix who worked at the Bird of Prey centre?

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  16. That's absolute genius mate.....hahahahaha

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  17. Too many long words Richard
    who do you think reads this blog?
    THE QUEEN?

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  18. "Eagle my arse" is only 4 syllables and 3 whole words, actually.

    So put that in your pipe and assiduously respire it.

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  19. Excellent work, encouraging small children to smoke pipes.....take no notice of the bad man Rosie

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  20. So The Queen is an expert on long words? I don't think so. Drinking Gin, maybe.

    AND BLOODY SIGN IN!

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  21. How was I supposed to know that? THEY WERE ANONYMOUS

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  22. she's crying now.....you are a bad man too

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