The Twilight Sad – Forget the Night Ahead
The one thing I notice in this record more than anything is that it really doesn’t generate anything like the excitement in me that its predecessor achieved. I am not sure if that is because the sheer hummability quota is slightly diminished, or just because this doesn’t really move on in any real sense from territory the band had already claimed with such aplomb.
There are certainly a few excellent air-punching, turn-it-up-really loud moments on this album, but there’s not much in terms of sheer thrill, for some reason. Maybe that’s because a large part of that excitement tends to come from the sheer unexpectedness of a band’s emergence from pretty much nowhere, and there’s only so often you can manage that level of exuberant excitement when faced for what is basically the same thing.
And I may be wrong, but this does pretty much feel like the same thing. There are certainly some excellent moments though: the slow, thundercloud piano of Floorboards Under the Bed is great, and the first three songs, Reflection of the Television, single I Became a Prostitute, and Seven Years of Letters are all decent approximations of what made this band so popular. Once that’s over, however, things seem to peter out somewhat. Made to Disappear is sort of like before, only less so. So is That Birthday Present and so are the last three songs, and although That Room is a little different, for some reason it sounds almost like a warm up for The Stadium Rock Album. So I have to confess that, nah, sorry, this just isn’t doing it for me.
Oddly enough, because I’m writing a review I keep looking for reasons I don’t like large parts of this album, and there really aren’t many that I can think of. It’s all pretty much as it should be, but the end result is not really the sum of its parts, somehow. So despite nothing all that tangible being wrong with it, Forget the Night Ahead just ends up feeling inexplicably lacklustre.
The Twilight Sad – Reflection of the Television
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The Twilight Sad – Floorboards Under the Bed
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the geatards have a distinct my bloody bloody bloody valentine vibe to um. other than that the songs don’t make me want to explore this band any further – just thought i’d let you know this; i will not explore this band any further. that’s one more i can take off my list.
Wow, these two songs sound incredibly good to me. If they’re at all representative of the rest of the album, then this one could be right up my street. Don’t write them off so easily Chris. I’ve seen the Twilight Sad play live a couple of times and they’ve blown my face off both times.
with those guitars i can imagine them bein’ pretty smokin’ live…those vocals though…same reason i could never get into the wedding present – he always sounded like a combo of kermit the frog and fozzy bear.
I’ve also seen them live a couple of times and loved it. They’re a good band, but these are probably the pick of the album in my view, C&B, so tread carefully.
Pretty much summed up what I feel about this, Toadio (and I have had this on a dozen times plus in the store…). It just doesn’t have the belters the first one had. It’s good, most bands would be delighted with it, but for them it’s the sound of treading water… especially seeing as it takes the thing I like least about them live, the sledgehammer, montonous guitars, and just hammers it through all ten (plus? Can’t remember) tracks. It feels like the dynamics are gone a little. However I have read some very good reviews, so I guess it’s horses for courses.
Yeah, see, I really like the sledgehammer, monotonous guitars. Except to me they’re not monotonous, they’re “droning.” At least they’re not fucking gossamer. ;^>
For me it’s missing the accordion, which gave the first album an endearing grounding in Scottish folk (contrast with all the other noise and fury); and it’s missing a theme, without which the lyrics don’t make much sense. There’s a few really good songs on it though, I think “I Became A Prostitute” and “That Birthday Present” in particular are among the best tracks they’ve ever done. But the debut is probably actually one of my favourite albums ever, and this… isn’t. My thousand word review (!) will be online in the next few days I think.
Thousand? Fucking hell, I hope you’re joking.
I never noticed the lack of accordion actually, but you’re right, it is rather missed. Maybe I’m in the same boat though, because I bloody loved their debut, which almost made it inevitable that this would disappoint.
I love you, C&B. And I adore this album, which might have been improved by adding a droning, teeth-rattling accordian. But, then again, maybe not.
Right, I’ve not heard this album yet but I want to agree with Jim’s point about the worst part about them live being the monotonous guitar sound or wall of noise. The lovely subtleties of the first record were always lost live for me. I saw them recently at the Bongo Club though and it was the best I’d seen them. I am looking forward to the album, but from what I’ve heard so far I do expect it to be more of the same.
hhhhhhmmmmmmm….arse!
What can a band do? stay the same and trundle out the same type of stuff year on year, then get slated for it for not pushing themselves, or progress and develop their sound and then get slated for not being true to themselves.
I love Twilight Sad, the first time i saw them live they took my breath away, and when i heard the first album it floored me with its wall of sound.
Now if i was going to be hyper-critical (which, with the above review i think you are being Mr Toad) then I’d say that the first Twilight Sad album was a little 2 dimensional, one great trick played over and over, it didn’t bother me at all cos I loved the trick and the songs. However, on this new one they have developed the sound and, whilst still keeping the TS power, there is more depth and warmth to the guitar sound and, to my ears, more space between the instruments. In terms of an individual act I think this is a great big leap forward.
I love it!
p.s. Euan you are right about that last gig…..and don’t fear the album delivers also!
Well if I’m criticising them for anything it’s for not evolving, particularly when the well of ideas for their initial direction seems to have run rather dry.
I can’t figure out if I’m being overly harsh because I expect such a lot after loving their first album so much. Or maybe it’s the other way around, maybe I’m being overly generous because I love the first album so much, whereas were this by anyone else I would long since have given up trying to find anything much to recommend it at all.
You wrote ‘punchnig’ up there somewhere. I googled just to check it wasn’t some obscure word, because that would have been embarrassing.
I always confuse ‘The Twilight Sad’ with ‘Six Twilights’, and both bands with recent vampire movie/book ‘Twilight’. And really everyone shoul try to distance themselves from that.
Typo fixed, Volders, thank you.
Yeah, Mrs. Toad loves vampire movies so we watched Twilight a month or so ago. Christ they stared at each other a lot. Boooring.
Bart will probably now come up with a hilarious and eminently quotable meaning for the obscure noun ‘punchnig’.
OK, I’ve listened to it properly a few times now (it’s streaming on the Fat Cat website) and I’m pretty sure I love it. A lot. So there.
Not joking Matthew. If it’s more than you or anyone else can be arsed with, there’ll be a 150 version in the print mag too.
I’m not having a dig, just surprised, given you summed it up pretty well in your comment above!