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The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters
The Twilight Sad are Scottish band formed in late 2003, based in Glasgow. It seems they haven’t played very many live shows. However, this lack of experience isn’t apparent in this recording. The overall sound is well put together indie rock and professionally produced. Big big chorus’s, big guitars and drums create an album of anthemic tracks. However, this doesn’t mean all the tracks sound the same, far from it.
The band makes best use of singer James Grahams powerful vocal range. He belts out with passion but can move to melodic crooning in a breath. First track is Cold Days From The Birdhouse, very quiet guitars, very melodic, singer Grahams accent is at its strongest on this track, however unlike some other Scottish offerings he is clear and understandable. This track moves very quickly to big dramatic guitar and drums, this transforms the track immediately, so much, so it really took me by surprise.
That Summer At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy, had a good drumbeat which keeps the track moving along nicely, then the accordion kicks in. Just when you think it couldn’t get any better in comes one of the best chorus lines I’ve heard for a while “The kids are on fire – in the bedroom” This was one of the really stand out tracks for me. Walk For Two Hours, starts out louder, than the other tracks but somehow lacks the twists and turns of the others. It is a good track but perhaps not to the excellent standard of the earlier ones. Last Years Rain Didn’t Fall Quite So Hard (great song titles!!!!) wasn’t a track I took to immediately, it left me feeling it was building to something but didn’t quite achieve it.
Talking With Fireworks/Here It Never Snowed, a very loud start to the track, big drums and I am sure it wasn’t just the accent but it had a sound of The Pogues, a real country/Scottish folk sound (yes I know the Pogues are Irish). However, the overall indie anthemic sound still prevails, great track. If I am honest although I like to be able to tell the origin of a band from how they sing I sometimes find the Scottish accent one of the hardest to adjust to. However in the case of Twilight Sad I would be happy to make an exception it enhanced the listening.
- The Twilight Sad
- Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters (2007)
- Category: Album
- Label: Fat Cat Recordings
- Reviewed by: Smartie
- Published on: 29 May 2007
- Photography by: Javier Villegas
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
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Add to favouritesMapped By What Surrounded Them was the next track, it starts with strong guitar and great drumbeat, which build and build only to die in a mass of feedback. Another brillient track. Next track was And She Would Darken The Memory, liked the intro, slightly darker lyrics. I’m Taking The Train Home, builds slower, this and the last track were both acceptable album tracks but again seemed to lack the polish of the other offerings. Title track Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters is an instrumental which for me didn’t do anything, a bit of a boring end to an otherwise very solid debut album, much more was good than bad.
The band have been likened to U2 perhaps because of the Celtic origin or perhaps the anthemic sound. I think they have an individual sound and style, which should please anyone who loves indie rock. Not as polished or controlled as the likes of Coldplay, Snow Patrol or Keane but still a good listen with strong sing along chorus’s with enough twist to keep anyone interested. I really liked this and hope the potential this shows grows.
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