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Forget is the debut album by George Lewis Jr (Twin Shadow) and it’s a stunner. The record is steeped in 80s nostalgia but even to mention this attribute is to do it a grave disservice.
Although the shimmering keys and lo-fi production evoke the analogue warmth of early electropop, Forget offers so much more than pastiche.
From the opening lines of Tyrant Destroyer “I know you spent time/From the town to the city/Looking for a life to start” it is clear that Lewis is no stranger to the inherent disillusionment of wanderlust.
Hailing from The Dominican Republic, he was raised in Florida before moving to New York and adopting the name Twin Shadow. The album is both minimal and maximal in that there is so much space yet there are always some gorgeous textures bubbling away just in earshot.
This sonic awareness is no surprise when you consider that Forget was produced by Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear, a band who have mastered subtly nuanced orchestration within a rock band format.
It would be irrelevant to point out individual tracks as stand-out songs because the whole album is steeped in sentiment and each piece has its own distinct charm.
So many artists hark back to the new wave synthpop of two decades ago but very rarely do they present anything new or relevant.
In Forget, Twin Shadow has written an album that is timeless yet emotionally attached to time and place.
The comparisons to the current wave of 80s nostalgia bands will appear again and again but these are merely superficial. Due to Lewis’s heartfelt knack for songwriting, Forget would sound beautiful whatever sounds underpinned it.
http://www.myspace.com/thetwinshadow