I've been listening to a lot of quieter, folksy stuff lately so The Twilight Sad's noisy bombast on "No One Can Ever Know" came as a refreshing respite. The Scottish trio's third album is an exercise in layers of guitars, feedback and even electronics on this go around, all topped off by James Graham's thick accented vocals.
Graham's accent may take some getting used to, but it absolutely fits and adds to the heaviness of the material. This is a band known for its loudness, and what I like best is within the walls of sound bursting from your speakers, they are still able to maintain a melodic element to their music. Noise with a melody. Compared to their earlier releases however, "No One Can Ever Know" is definitely more subdued, a bit more sparse and dark, best exemplified by first single "Sick", a somber track carried along by an electronic beat and sadly pretty melody. The band recorded a lovely acoustic version for the music video below.
There's not a bad song to be found here, with highlights including album opener "Alphabet", the urgent "Don't Look At Me" which features powerful drumming from Mark Devine, and "Don't Move", an example of the shoegaze and post-punk sounds the band often delve into. Second single "Another Bed" is a moody wonder, Andy MacFarlane's guitar work crying out while Graham menacingly sings 'I'll find you...don't worry.' If it's meant to be a reassuring statement, it sure as hell doesn't sound that way. But you can rest assured, The Twilight Sad are at the top of their game with "No One Can Ever Know".
"No One Can Ever Know" was released February 7, 2012 on Fat Cat Records
Official Website of The Twilight Sad
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