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[one_half last=”yes”]TWIN SHADOW
Eclipse
Release-Date: 17.03.2015
Label: Warner Bros.
Tracklist:
01. Flatliners
02. When The Lights Turn Out
03. Top The Top
04. Alone (feat. Lily Elise)
05. Eclipse
06. Turn Me Up
07. I’m Ready
08. Old Love/New Love (feat. D’Angelo Lacy)
09. Half Life
10. Watch Me Go
11. Locked & Loaded
NBHAP Rating: 3,5/5
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From 4AD to Warner Bros.
With his third record Eclipse George Lewis Jr. alias TWIN SHADOW managed to make it from the British independent label 4 AD to the American major label Warner Bros. It’s a change that reflects his musical development pretty well. On his two previous records, Forget and Confess, the American musician mixed radio-suitable synth-pop tracks (e.g. Five Seconds) with more experimental elements and a certain ‘retro’ flavor. In contrast, on Eclipse, he clearly seems to aim for a bigger audience: all eleven tracks are high gloss hit-material which are aiming to give this young gentleman his well-deserved mainstream break-trough. That situation is, of course, a bit frustrating for all the long-time fans. It’s a bit sad that Lewis doesn’t have the ‘balls’ to experiment on his third LP in the same style like he did on the two other ones. But, on the other side, who can resent him for it? He always had a thing for big pop melodies and slick production. And you can’t blame him for trying to to make a living out of it. After all,TWIN SHADOW has always been too pop to remain ‘indie.’
Love, pain & breakup
Eclipse deals with familiar themes: love, pain and the inevitable breakup. They’re fitting to TWIN SHADOW‘s music very well – the tentative r&b elements, Lewis emotional voice and the anthem-like, well-produced synth-pop tunes. In Flatliners, the opener which begins with a sad piano melody, he sings the lines: ‘You’re making promises/you’re breaking promises’ – only little words which illustrate profound emotions: the wonderful joyful feeling after somebody promised something to you and the deep disappointment and tearfulness after that beloved person broke this promise. And whoever questioned it: these lines also show that Lewis doesn’t make superficial music, like some people may think after having listened to Eclipse‘s catchy tracks for the first time. Once you get to the center of it you realise that the songs are much more profound and heart-touching than you thought at the beginning.
The slim border towards kitsch
With his sentimental ballad-pop, Lewis moves on a very slim tightrope – the music can quickly be marked as corny. And every now and then the music of TWIN SHADOW really is a bit too cheesy and too obvious. Luckily he manages quite well to remain at this narrow stage. He spreads an authentic dignity as his lyrics and emotions seem to come straight from his heart. Don’t look for any glimpse of irony, you won’t find it. Lewis Jr. performs in such a convincing and sentimental way that you are happily invited to feel his feelings with him in the course of Eclipse. Screaming ‘sellout’ and fearing his career step won’t make that go away. Sometimes the world needs these glossy gestures and whenever this is the case we’d rather have the job done by someone who truly believes in this.
With his third record ‘Eclipse’ TWIN SHADOW proofs that he’s got the ability to create catchy synth-pop for the masses with a certain, emotional profoundness.
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