Album Review: Twin Shadow- “Forget”

To say that everything that producer and Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor touches turns to gold would be a misstatement. It’s more like everything he touches turns into a hazy rainbow of indie genius. This is apparent on one of his record label’s latest releases, Twin Shadow’s Forget.

Twin Shadow is George Wilson, Jr., a gifted singer with a strange past and a penchant for constructing nostalgic, very danceable songs that some classify as chillwave. References to ‘80s new wave are easy to make while listening to his debut album, Forget, and Wilson is clearly a product of the modern indie scene. But that does not obscure how good this album is from start to finish.

Each song is infused with a mixture of synthesizers, shimmering guitars, drum machine beats, and catchy bass lines that are layered together to a precise, almost mathematical perfection. Chris Taylor stretches out the tunes, giving them depth and detailed flourishes that invite repeated listening. Every verse flows effortlessly into its chorus, and each song flows into the next. In this way, Forget achieves a feat that is rare these days: its can be listened to from beginning to end, and yet its songs are also effective individually. Lewis does borrow some sounds from the likes of Beach House and Grizzly Bear, from the drenched keyboards that threaten to fall out of tune on “When We’re Dancing” to the trippy picked guitar on the title track. But overall, Lewis has already found his own unique sound that usually takes some bands several records to find.

He does not falter as a lyricist either, even though, ironically enough, at times he sounds uncannily like Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste. He draws on his aforementioned past to create poetic and at times romantic narratives that are not boring or overly abstract. In the funky “At My Heels,” he croons “I can’t come up with any reason why/A ghost is following me.” At times, there is a lot of the standard talk about heartbreak and former lovers, but it matches the ‘80’s dance pace and style, and most of the time the music is so good that we don’t care what he is saying.

But for all of the serious, meticulous song writing that went into this album, there is a certain simple playfulness about it. Lewis has a mature sense of melody, and he knows how to loosen up and let a hook dominate a song. He is committed to making accessible songs that beckon all types of listeners to the dance floor. Album highlight “I Can’t Wait” is flat out fun, and its chorus sounds a bit like Don Henley’s classic “The Boys of Summer.” During the catchy chorus he sings, “I cannot wait for summer/I cannot wait for June.” Don’t we all feel this way? If there is one thing that indie music could use a little more of today is the universality of modern pop music. Twin Shadow proves that, prior to common belief, this can go hand in hand with complex, intelligent song writing.

The Beets Announce Tour With Eternal Summers, Release New Song


More and more bands from Queens have been popping up, hoping to unseat Brooklyn as the New York borough with the most happening scene. Jackson Heights natives, The Beets, are the brainchild of Uruguay born frontman Juan Wauters and best friend Jose Garcia, creating lo-fi pop songs more remniscient of a time lost than the current New York scene. With their second album, Stay Home, in stores already, the band have set up a tour with friends Eternal Summers. Look for them on the road the next two months and check out the new song “Time Brought Age.”

 
04/23 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory $
05/18 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern *
05/19 Detroit, MI Magic Stick Lounge *
05/20 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle ~ *
05/21 Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry *
05/22 Fargo, ND Aquarium *
05/24 Missoula, MT The Badlander *
05/25 Spokane, WA Craft House *
05/26 Vancouver, BC Media Club *
05/27 Seattle, WA Healthy Times Fun Club *
05/28 Portland, OR East End *
05/29 San Francisco, CA Hemlock/Popfest *
05/31 Los Angeles, CA Echo *
06/01 San Diego, CA Casbah *
06/04 Austin, TX Chaos in Tejas (Beerland) *
06/05 Houston, TX Free Press Summer Festival *
06/06 New Orleans, LA The Saint *
06/07 Birmingham, AL The Nick *
06/08 Atlanta, GA The Earl *
06/09 Charlotte, NC The Milestone # *

* = w/ Eternal Summers
^ = w/ Jeffrey Lewis
$ = w/ Davila 666, X-Ray Eyeballs
~ = w/ Crystal Stilts
# = w/ w/ Brilliant Colors

Spinto Band Give You A Song

THE SPINTO BAND

Last year, the Spinto Band recorded a cover of Christopher Cross’ “Arthur Theme (Best That You Can Do)”

Somewhat fortuitously, the remake of the movie of the same name happened to be filming at the same time. The band was hoping to find their remake sneaking into the movie somewhere, but alas it was not to be.

Instead of letting the remake sit collecting (digital) dust somewhere, the band decided that it needed to be shared with the world.

They are giving it away for free as a download on their site (in exchange for your e-mail, there’s always a catch). You can get the new tune right here, and look for more news about Spinto’s new album and tour coming soon.

Vivian Girls’ Album Out NOW!

Brooklyn trio Vivian Girls just released their third album this week, titled Share The Joy.  The girls have stated it’s a “really dark album” but unlike their past two albums, it has a happy ending.  If you want to catch them on tour with the Black Lips, here are the dates:

Fri-Apr-15        Montreal, QC                Le National *
Sat-Apr-16        Toronto, ON                Pheonix Concert Theatre *
Sun-Apr-17    Detroit, MI                    Magic Stick *   
Tue-Apr-19    Columbus, OH                Outland Live *
Wed-Apr-20    Newport, KY                Southgate House * 
Thu-Apr-21    St Louis, MO                The Firebird *
Fri-Apr-22        Chicago, IL                Logan Square Auditorium * 
Sat-Apr-23        Minneapolis, MN                Varsity Theater *
Sun-Apr-24    Northfield, MN                The Cave / Carleton College *
Mon-Apr-25    Omaha, NE                The Waiting Room *
Tue-Apr-26    Kansas City, MO                The Beaumont Club *
Wed-Apr-27    Dallas, TX                    The Loft *
Thu-Apr-28    Austin, TX                    Emo’s *   
Sun-May-01    Los Angeles, CA            The Echo / Part Time Punks
Mon-May-02    San Diego, CA                 Casbah # 
Tue-May-03    Santa Barbara, CA            Muddy Waters #
Wed-May-04    San Francisco, CA            Rickshaw Stop #
Fri-May-06    Seattle, WA                Vera Project #
Sat-May-07    Vancouver, BC                The Biltmore #
Sun-May-08    Portland, OR                Holocene #
Wed-May-11    Salt Lake City, UT            Kilby Court #
Thu-May-12    Denver, CO                Larimer Lounge #
Fri-May-13    Lawrence, KS                Jackpot Music Hall #
Sat-May-14    Bloomington, IN             Max’s Place #
Sun-May-15    Cleveland, OH                Grog Shop #

* = w/ Black Lips
# = w/ No Joy

Times New Viking Announce New Single and Tour Dates

Art school graduates and Columbus, Ohio natives Times New Viking have just released a single called “Ever Falling in Love.” The single is from their album Dancer Equired.  Here’s the single for your listening pleasure:
http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F13158655Ever Falling In Love by Times New Viking

The band is also going on tour.  Catch them at these spots:

May 26 Boston, MA  Great Scott
May 27 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory
May 28 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
May 29 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s
May 30 Washington, DC Black Cat
Jun 2 Carrboro, NC Local 506
Jun 3 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Jun 6 Dallas, TX Club Dada
Jun 7 Austin, TX Mohawk
Jun 11 San Diego, CA Casbah
Jun 12 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite
Jun 14 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop
Jun 16 Portland, OR Bunk Bar
Jun 21 Seattle, WA Sunset Tavern
Jun 22 Vancouver, BC Media Club
Jun 24 Calgary, AB Sled Island Fest 
Jun 25 Calgary, AB Sled Island Fest 
Jun 28 Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry
Jun 29 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Jun 30 Bloomington, IN The Bishop