The Twilight Sad - Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave (Fat Cat, 2014)

The Twilight Sad
Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave
Fat Cat
2014

Rating: 7 invisible nets out of 10

Is it weird that a big part of the reason I like the Twilight Sad so much is because the singer's Scottish accent is as strong as it is even when he's singing?  The same was true with Arab Strap.  No idea why I find that so fascinating and/or appealing, but I do.  I would be hard pressed to spot many differences between all of the records these cats have put out, but I do know pretty much every time I hear their take on morose, dynamic indie pop I always enjoy it, or as much as you can enjoy music that feels so depressing.  Somehow they actually sound like the weather of Northern Britain, if that makes sense.  It probably doesn't.  This record does sound a little more "eighties" for a lack of a more succinct term, and not nearly as heavy on the quiet/loud/quiet crutch as their earlier material.  Are they just maturing as song writers?  I dunno, but it still sounds good, and it's not all that different really.  I doubt any long-time fans heard this and got mad.       

Paws - Youth Culture Forever (Fat Cat, 2014)

Paws
Youth Culture Forever
Fat Cat
2014

Rating: 8 foggy trees out of 10

I love hearing something I like this much completely out of the blue.  I had no idea who Paws was, or why this album "Youth Culture Forever" was even on my computer, but I decided to give it a listen.  I wasn't even all that taken at first, but when I hit the third track "Someone New" my ears perked up; by the fifth track "Give Up," I was completely sold.  It is so goddamn catchy, an album begging to be sung along to either live or while driving in your car, two of my favorite pastimes.  There is an immediate"nineties indie rock" feel here, and as someone permanently stuck in that decade I welcomed it.  The biggest comparison would be the Thermals, but you hear elements of Superchunk and Archers of Loaf and even a little Weezer (the Weezer of the first two albums, aka the "good" Weezer, obviously). 

I'm going to listen to this so much I get sick of it, and that's ok.  In fact I'm excited for it.  New bands that give me this tingly happy vibe don't come along too often. 

The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know (Fat Cat, 2012)

The Twilight Sad

No One Can Ever Know

Fat Cat

2012

Rating: 6 cheddar combos out of 10

I find I have a strange relationship with The Twilight Sad...I like their music and have listened to pretty much all of their releases, but for some reason I just can't bring myself to get excited by them.  They might actually be too dour and depressing for my tastes, if that's possible.  Their music is certainly well crafted and on paper should be something I get worked up over.  This particular album is a little less sweeping and emotional than their previous material, taking a more even keeled approach and never getting too caught up in that soft/loud/soft dynamic that Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky made so popular and Twilight Sad leaned on heavily in the past. Now they feel like a modern version of a Factory band or something in that neighborhood - driving, almost electronic beats and lots of keyboards and synths.  They do this new sound fine, but I find myself no less interested this time around than last time despite the changes. 

I still love singer James Graham's vocals though, the accent as heavy as syrup.  I just wish I could get wound up over the whole package a little more.