A Glaswegian rock band that punctuates its guitar-fueled rock blasts with moody interludes and bits of esoteric instrumentation, The Twilight Sad makes epic songs that sound both punishing and pretty. With a thick brogue that gives his music a heavy dose of Scottish surliness, singer James Graham paints vague but distinct portraits of alienation and internal strife throughout Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, The Twilight Sad's fine full-length debut.
In "That Summer, At Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy," Graham croons lines about a seemingly idyllic childhood ("a strong father figure," "a loving mother") before pulling back to reveal kids, presumably metaphorically, "on fire in the bedroom." After a slow build — and before a slower fade out — guitars begin to swirl and snarl around Graham as the arrangement gets downright apoplectic, hitting a roaring peak as more and more paranoia sets in. It's a short-lived boil-over, but The Twilight Sad makes it stick in the memory long after the feedback dies out.
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