The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know (2012)

Full Length, Fatcat Records
February 7th, 2012

Genre: Shoegaze/Indie Rock/Post-Punk
Region: Scotland

Ah... the new The Twilight Sad record has arrived, and with some slight shifts in sound compared to previous releases too. There's far more synth/post-punkish or new wavy influence this time around while the guitars slide back a little more but this does not bring the album down at all to me. Their style has slowly been shifting with each record and it's never fucked up their gloomy atmosphere or ability to write quality tunes.

Once again James' vocals pull you in with that hypnotic, heavy accent and excellent cadence while the lyrics still encompass strange innocence, familial struggles and not-knowing with relatability despite their quirky nature and structure. As mentioned the synths are pushed to the front, shining and creeping over all the tracks without becoming tiresome and really bring a 80's sort of vibe into their noisey, shoegazey sound — it sets this album apart from the rest of their catalogue without a doubt. Guitar is still laced in feedback and reverb hazing the background up with a thick bass lead in front of it and steady, strong drumming acting perfectly to draw everything together with some great beats. No One Can Ever Know is momentarily upbeat at points but this always collapses into a melancholic tone with a spectral touch.

Clearly another win for The Twilight Sad. I really like the change in direction they've taken with this one. A depressive, mysterious, ghostly journey soak up. Pick this up in whatever form you please over at Fatcat Records if you enjoy it, I'll be picking up my copy when they pass through Toronto at the end of this month.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)