Twin Shadow - Confess

Two years after Twin Shadow’s debut ‘Forget’, George Lewis Jr is back with a second album of sophisticated New-wave and melancholy R&B, released on indie haven 4AD.

Relatively restrained opener ‘Golden Light’ doubles down on twinkling synth and downbeat piano, evoking neon lit streets as the singer looks back at a break-up and agonises over walking away. ‘You Call Me On’ begins with a scratchy, distorted guitar and a kind of industrial RnB backdrop before the vocalist shows up, pondering another partner who led him on. ‘Five Seconds’ goes for belting anthemics, sharing much of the same DNA as the synth-rock of Ladyhawke’s debut album. The vocal is strong but the lyrics and melody are less so, making it one of the least distinctive tracks on the album and a curious choice for lead single. Luckily four songs in the album really kicks into gear and doesn’t let up from then on. Said to be inspired by a motorcycle ride through Los Angeles, ‘Run My Heart’ perfectly captures the sense of freedom and exhilaration, like Bruce Springsteen if his leather jacket was studded with rhinestones rather than stained with petrol. Opening with a spooky Cure-like guitar line it’s helped by a full throttle chorus ‘This isn’t love / I’m just a boy / you’re just a girl’ that becomes more intense and vital with each repetition.

His leather-clad appearance in the artwork to ‘Confess’ may resemble George Michael but the second half of ‘Confess’ clearly owes more to the heady mix of God and Sex that made Prince such an explosive talent. In fact when the vocalist croons ‘I built a sanctuary for all your troubles and doubts’ on ‘Patient’ he’s closer to the Purple One’s lurid vision of psychedelic sky-scraping pop vision than Prince himself has been for years.

With a clear voice that suits both driving R&B and the Purple Rain-esque power ballads Lewis Jr is a powerful presence even if some of the tracks are rather too slick to provide genuine insight into his emotions. ‘I Don’t Care’ could be Brandon Flowers at his most louche whilst ‘The One’ opens on a vocal line strongly reminiscent of one of Morrissey’s solo tracks. Another standout, the lovelorn ‘Beg For the Night’ hangs around a shimmering U2-like guitar figure in the chorus but gives way to glossy New Wave synths in the verses and of course a squalling Prince-esque outro solo.

It’s rare that a record on 4AD shares more influences with Lady Gaga than Lush but ‘Confess’ demonstrates the revered labels knack for picking artists who can channel a whole range of influences into a cohesive and contemporary whole. A great night-time soundtrack.

7.4


Max Sefton

Purity Ring - Fineshrine

For anyone familiar with Purity Ring's exceptional output thus far, new track Fineshrine will come as no surprise. It's a rather remarkable track, showing no real deviation from the dazzling, chopped up future-pop cuts we've been lucky enough to indulge in for the past year or so, yet displays phenomenal amounts of invention and the indication that Purity Ring now have a signature sound and are far more than just another buzz-band.
 
The tempo and comfortably foreboding atmosphere is very similar to previous tracks Lofticries and Obedear, but Fineshrine has it's own magic within. The stuttering drum machines and otherworldly background oscillating samples are utterly captivating and dense, which combined with singer Megan James' tuneful occasionally childlike vocals have the ability to leave a unassuming listener in complete awe. This is music to fill up your head with on a deafening speaker system or particularly bass heavy headphones, and should get anyone who comes across it to get that little bit more excited for their debut record 'Shrines', out on revered label 4AD.

Toby McCarron

SpaceGhostPurrp - No Evidence

My reaction to the news of SGP’s signing to 4AD was much like Stephen Malkmus’ opening howl in Pavement’s brilliant reworking of the ‘Space Ghost: Coast to Coast’ theme: “SPACEGHOOOOOOOOOST”. It’s about time that the real talent in modern swag-rap (Tyler who?) got some recognition – yet at the same time, such a move could only spell an end to his purer, ultra lo-fi days.

‘No Evidence’, however, proves that this might be no bad thing. Opening with icy, metallic synths and skeletal percussion, hurried whispers reappropriate any apprehension to pure tension which fills the twenty seconds of beat before our masked hero joins in. His flow, laconic and weed-damaged as ever has enough room to breathe within the confines of the fairly minimalist beat, a refreshing change from the spazz-hop of more recent beat makers such as Knxwledge.

Much like early R.E.M, the move away from lo-fi has revealed the unfortunate truth that is SGP’s lyrics but, perhaps that is unfairly pedantic – trillwave has never exactly been renowned for the Wildean lines it produces. It’s clear that SGP is no Heems. ‘No Evidence’s parts add up to something much greater than its losses and is, overall, a pretty top-tier debut single (if only for the middle-aged 4AD nerds it will no doubt rile up)

It looks like SpaceGhostPurrp really is living the high life. (HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH GETTIT?)

Noll Gray 

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

With St. Vincent (Annie Clark)’s musical background, it’s no surprise that she’s more than great at making her own music. After stints in The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens’ touring bands, Clark decided to make her own music and has since released two full lengths, Marry Me and Actor but has given herself more freedom for her third studio album Strange Mercy. After Actor saw St. Vincent become more successful, the 2 year build up to her third album has left many fans with baited breath interested to see what Clark has done next. Where she squashed herself into a box that perhaps wasn’t completely her for both previous albums, there’s a real sense of freedom and running wild throughout Strange Mercy.

Underneath the reassuring but seductive vocals that encase the album, there are some darker themes and self doubt that could often be ignored by oblivious listeners. Opener ‘Chloe In The Afternoon’ contains scuzzed up belligerent drums, a distorted classic rock guitar riff and Clark’s distinct vocals that are somewhat brushed under the chaotic instrumental.  It’s an entrance with attitude and the album carries on with the same exerted force onto second single from the album, ‘Cruel’ which starts off very childlike and fairytale esque but bursts into a massive chorus with Clark’s soaring vocals accompanying a skilled and distorted guitar freakout which sounds epic compared to the more understated guitar freakout at the end of lead single ‘Surgeon’.

Throughout Strange Mercy, there are several immense guitar riffs that prove Annie Clark is definitely not someone you’d want to battle against on guitar hero. Not only is she musically skilled but she also has a certain way with words that produces perplexing and sinister lyrics but transforms them into cleverly playful phrases with her fragile voice. Most notable lyrical point on the album is on ‘Champagne Year’ where Clark softly utters ‘It’s a champagne year for the sober ones’ on one of the slower points on the record.

Although already surrounded by adoring fans, it’s this record that really sees Annie Clark’s talent shine and she just builds upon her mysterious nature with exquisite guitar playing and astounding vocals that take you by surprise from the first few seconds of ‘Chloe In The Afternoon’ to the last few seconds of ‘Year Of The Tiger’. An album immersed in glory and pain simultaneously, Strange Mercy shows that by letting go, you can acquire something equally beautiful. 


9/10

By Aurora Mitchell