Twin Shadow - 'Forget' (4AD) Released: 15/11/10

If 80s revival LPs were named by the same method as low-budget British comedy films then Twin Shadow’s 'Forget' would almost certainly be called Carry On Lo-Fi.

This is perhaps an unfairly reductive analogy given the craft George Lewis Jr. has demonstrated on his new wave indebted debut album. Yet it’s a tag the record clutches closer to its chest than a copy of Echo & The Bunnymen’s 'Porcupine'.
Certainly gothic synths and poignant baritone are thrust upon this album like they’re going out of fashion, an ironic gesture given the revivals lifespan. At least though, its Dominican born author has had the good sense to stamp his own impression on a set of all too easily identifiable influences.

Where 'Forget' excels is in creating a keen sense of atmosphere. The meditative melody of opener ‘Tyrant Destroyed’ flows through into ‘When We’re Dancing’s mournful funk almost without notice. Preferring to build a sense of opprobrium around the crackling chug of an 808 drum machine, rather than ruin the ambience in one blustered statement of blaring intent.

‘Slow’s raucous guitar outro does eventually break the mould of hushed dystopia almost 12 minutes into the LP and by means of delayed delivery, its wailing pay-off is heightened with ecstatic results. The same trick is used to even better effect at the denouement of ‘For Now’, when a carnival of cowbell and chopped vocals erupts out of a timeworn tale of “summer girls” and “feckless boys”.

In this manner, Twin Shadow’s archaic record collection acts as a strange decoy. Like re-reading Harry Potter to find Voldemort’s greatest enemy was a psychologist with a thorough knowledge of the Oedipus complex, 'Forget’s’ neat twist on a classic theme leaves listeners expecting an outcome different to what it actually delivers.

‘Yellow Balloon’ takes heed that its arrival comes about 28 years too late to sit alongside its 80s forefathers and accordingly, its prosaic lyrical nods to “secret handshakes” are placed low in the mix to draw parallel with more modern alt-rock outfits. Likewise, the brutal rush of bass that underlines the title track has its roots in clubs where ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ does not qualify as a dancefloor filler.

Ultimately a large part of the fun of 'Forget' is burrowing into its heritage, finding out what makes it tick and then reliving each track through your own personal fondness for the era that inspired it. That the record survives such a process intact and with its modest charms enhanced bodes well for the future of Twin Shadow.