Twin Shadow - Forget (2010) [Terrible] // Grade: A

Ahh, the simple pleasures… that’s really all I want in an album. Sure, I’ll get enticed by something exotic and weird, but in the end, all I really want is something I can play over and over and over again, singing and humming the words and melodies. The past year or so hasn’t been barren from these sorts of albums, but they’ve all seemed too contrived and calculated in the end (see: Girls, The Drums).  Sure I’ll let it play and even like it, but I hate knowing that my strings are being pulled just to elicit a feeling. And when I know that’s the case, the album and its music become frivolous, a passing novelty that I’ll tire of. I want my pop simple, effortless and without pretense. For the best of it, the artist never realizes just how transcendent it is, and the songs are penned for no other reason than he or she needed to get them out.  So with that said, I welcome the most gloriously simple and perfect joy of song that I’ve heard in a good long time, with Twin Shadow’s debut album Forget.

Twin Shadow is really just George Lewis Jr., a young Dominican gentleman living in Brooklyn by way of Florida. And while you’ve probably never heard of  George Lewis Jr. yet, you will… you must! No one with this kind of knack for penning simple and personal lyrics about love and romance can stay a secret for too long. He’s one part Morrissey and two parts Edwyn Collins, drawing you in with his smooth voice and effortless melodies, with the sort of tales anyone can easily apply to some aspect of their life or personal history. You’ll pine, you’ll reminisce and you’ll want to dance across the duration of this album thinking about past and current relationships. And if that sounds sappy to you, well you have never lived and loved, my friend! But if you’ve ever at any point in your life spent an evening weighed down by the lovesick truths of a Smiths album, you’ll understand the cathartic beauty and romanticism that this album evokes. It’s a strange drug.  Forget delivers through and through from start to finish. It’s a shame that Twin Shadow has just this one album, because once it ends, all I wanted was to hear more and more.

Forget marks the first full length for Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and his fledgling Terrible records imprint (their first ever record was the Class Actress EP, released earlier this year). It also happens to be Taylor’s first foray into producing for an artist that isn’t Grizzly Bear. Sticking mostly to inspiration from light 80s synth-pop, Taylor does a fantastic job of crafting a sound that suits a singer/songwriter like George Lewis Jr., by showcasing his voice in a way that both sets it apart from but knowingly gives nods to his romantic peers.

Forget is familiar and comforting, and never outdated–be it now, then or twenty years from now. This is the sort of album that resonates not because it’s original or different, but because it’s heartfelt and goddamn good, which seems to be getting harder and harder to pull off. So while it might be too soon to start mapping out your Fall romances, we all know that at some point you’re going to need something to sooth your broken heart on a dark and cold weekend night. Forget will be there for you, I swear.

You can currently purchase Forget for just $1 (North America only) via Twin Shadow’s website. You can’t even ride on the train for a dollar. Buy it! It’ll be one of your best investments ever. The vinyl comes out on September 28th.

- My Pal the Crook