Lately In The Halfway Home

The Twilight Sad are usually more well known for ear-piecingly loud shoegaze, with layers of guitars and keyboards underpinned by James Graham’s deep lyrics. On their third album however they take a drastic shift in direction. The keyboards and synth come much more to the fore and Andy Macfarlanes guitar, whilst still very noisy, is left at the back of the mix. With the bass heavier than before, you get a very dark, minimal album, with lot’s of industrial influence added, whilst James Graham sounds vitriolic with his lyrics. It’s creepy as hell in places and at times very angry but it’s gripping throughout, from the propulsive Dead City, to the weirdly uplifting finale of Kill It In The Morning. A bit of a belter this one. 8/10

Pick Tracks: Dead City, Don’t Move, Another Bed