Twin Shadow - "Caer"

Twin Shadow, AKA Mr. George Lewis Jr. has been releasing music for almost a decade now.  In 2010 he made his debut with the very hazy, throwback of a Synth Pop album "Forget".  Now, this isn't my favorite of his albums, but there still is so much great material here.  I loved the playful vibes of "At My Heels" and the funky "Shooting Holes".  Now, some of the earlier tunes here were a little average to me.  But some of the later tunes, like the immense SynthWave on "Yellow Balloon", showed the very retro route Twin Shadow was about to go down.  But more than that, it was obvious that Twin Shadow knew how to write a genuinely catchy Pop tune, and I just loved the surreal feel this album got occasionally.  Now, Twin Shadow returned in 2012 in an absolutely gigantic way with his "Confess" album.  This album blew "Forget" completely out of the water, with much cleaner production, slicker grooves, and an undeniably 80's Funk vibe.  Not to mention, George didn't seem like any of this was too much, and handled himself wonderfully.  Tracks like "Five Seconds" and "The One" brought in just enough New Wave influences as well to give this album a little jolt of energy.  Overall, this album was everything I wanted to hear from the project and a really fantastic album.  My only one issue with it was that George's performances alone gave this album a certain steaminess.  So much so that when he would try to be overtly sexy on tracks like "Patient" it was a little too much.  Still though, "Confess" was a gigantic leap for Twin Shadow.  But oh boy, the good times did not last.  2015's "Eclipse" showed George moving in a much more anthemic, arena-sized direction.  Which, yea, on paper sounds like it should be incredible.  But George forgot his songwriting at home, and while tracks like the opener "Flatliners" did live up to this gigantic sound, this album fell apart quick.  George had a great idea of making his sound bigger, but he just wasn't writing the proper material for it. Now, with these new singles, it does seem like George is back to writing some seriously catchy material.  But will his songwriting stay afloat?  Let's find out.

(A personal favorite of mine!)

    This album starts off with "Brace", a very light and Pop-oriented sound.  And honestly, it's a little too light for my liking, and way too poppy.  I mean, Twin Shadow at a time sweated "cool", and I personally really miss THAT era.  But for a new direction, I wouldn't say this track is entirely a waste.  He pulls off this very sweet vibe for the most part.  I'm not entirely into some of these backing vocals by Rainford.  But for a bright intro that opens this album, it's not a waste of time.  And I'll be honest, I can totally get with George's bluesier tone.  And that little guitar solo at the end George?  That's sweet.  "Saturdays" on the other hand, is entirely more in the realm of what I want to hear.  Personally, I love to hear George in this much more straightforward, throwback Synth-Pop style.  It's moments like this that once again has him sounding like a star.  This one has some really epic synths, steamy atmospheres, and it's apparent that since "Eclipse" George's songwriting is back, to an extent.  Plus, this one has a really solid feature from the ladies in HAIM, who sound right at home amongst this sort sort of New Wave track.  This is a really great tune, that captures everything I once truly loved about Twin Shadow.  But I really sort of wish that George would stick with THIS sound and just stretch it out.  "Sympathy" is a little more stripped down and funky.  And yea, there are some really great elements here, mostly because George's soulful performance and the pacing here are brilliant.  It's quaint and sweet, and there's certainly nothing wrong with it.  But personally, I would much rather hear George tackle more Synth Pop and New Wave.  But "Sympathy" is still pleasant. But it's tracks like "18 Years" where quite frankly I have run out of nice things to say.  This one is all atmosphere and zero substance.  Like a lot of the tracks here, this one actually sounds pretty solid.  The atmosphere is on point, and like a lot of early Twin Shadow recordings the production is immaculate.  But George just sounds so awkward on this sort of slow jam.  It's passionate and all, but it's moments like this that once again I feel like George's songwriting has plummeted over the years in a big way.  Not to mention, it's just sort of boring, and I would much rather just hear him push on with what works than go for this more cinematic sound.  Now, one thing I have to say about this album is that George sounds great.  His vocals over the years have gotten raspier and bluesier.  But where the hell is the content?  I was seriously interested in hearing where this album was headed, but so far we've only gotten a good track or two followed by filler and snoozers.  This track isn't steamy or sexy or even cool, it's just awkward and shows that George has no sense of direction.  I didn't show up for awkward, whimsical Indie Pop. 

    But those beautiful Synthesizers roll back in for "When You're Wrong".  Now, this may not be the more upbeat sound that I was hoping to hear.  But George here at least sounds like he's in his prime.  This one is just so sleek and funky, and even if it's a little straightforward it comes off great.  It's just so steamy and nocturnal, and reminds me of everything I loved about albums like "Confess".  It's so cliche for this genre, but my GOD can George ever nail these tales of late night seduction and debauchery.  Now, "Twins Theme" may be an instrumental, and it may not be the upbeat Synth Pop and New Wave I love to hear.  But this is actually a really steamy, soulful instrumental straight out of the 80's.  There are some sweet guitar licks and a sultry atmosphere, but it doesn't overstay it's welcome.  Then we have "Littlest Things", which once again really isn't that upbeat but at the very least George does sound determined and focused.  I actually really love his vocals here which are much purer.  The pacing here as well is wonderful, and there are some seriously classy synths on the chorus.  If George does want to start slowly pushing out in some new directions, it's THIS, not some bizarre Indie Pop.  This one is just so triumphant and anthemic and has some strangely positive vibes I can certainly get with.  It does my heart good to hear George return to this after his failed Arena Rock experiment.  But that whimsical and playful returns in a big way with “Too Many Colors”, all I can say is “Be careful George”.  But this one ends up being one of the more upbeat and seriously groovy tracks here.  It’s determined, and it’s once again a little something different from George.  And I would say it actually works, even though some of the xylophones are ridiculously corny.  But it’s moments like this that do have me on the edge of my seat.  This may not be bad, but this easily could have been one of the cheesiest and most intolerable here.  Then we get a mother sort of interlude with “Rust”, but this one doesn’t come off nearly as interesting.  It’s not nearly as soulful and dripping with the cool sounds that George once encompassed.  Even his performance on this one, his monologue just doesn’t do nearly as much as I was hoping.  At the very least, the last interlude transitioned this album nicely, this one just wasn’t necessary.

    Now, “Obvious People” actually has some very cool, intense synths bubbling underneath.  George’s very straightforward performance here is nice, and from a production standpoint, I think this is one of the most interesting of the album.  There are some really intense moments here, even if this one is slow and seemingly low-key.  George’s performance is fiery as hell, and the instrumental, while it’s on the lighter side, certainly remains one of the most impactful here.  There’s the obvious “heartbroken” aspect to this that really works nicely as well.  As a whole, “Obvious People” works nicely.  I mean, that weird, effect-drenched verse is bizarre.  But this one works for me in a big way.  Now, I’m totally into the idea of a slow jam at this point, and I really think George could pull one off that’s really cool.  However, I’m not interested in the Spoken Word performance on “Runaway”.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, his story is fantastic.  But this could have been presented entirely differently because I can barely stay focused.  There are some sweet vocals at the chorus and all, and there is an epic feel that I’m into.  But overall, “Runaway” should have been packaged differently.  And we get another slow jam as this album closes out with “Bombs Away”.  I honestly think George is holding back on us.  The synths are welcome on this finale, and I dig the steamy atmosphere.  But why do I feel like George is capable of so much more?

Rating: 7.1/10

Give A Listen To: “Saturdays”, “When You’re Wrong”, “Littlest Things”, “Obvious People”

Genre: Synth Pop / New Wave

Overall Thoughts: Twin Shadow returns after his flop of an attempt at an Arena Rock album, George comes back with an album that is certainly much more thought out.  Like most of his work in the past, the production is immaculate and George’s performances are just as dripping in “Cool” as ever.  But while there are a handful of really great tunes on here that prove that Twin Shadow still has plenty of gas in the tank, why is it that I feel like he’s holding back in such a big way?