Album Review: The Twighlight Sad - 'Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave'

The Twilight Sad are not a band that we know well down here in the sunburnt country, to say they have a cult following is an understatement. That being said, there is probably a stack of great band's we've never heard of so life goes on. The Scottish group has been around for awhile and have toyed with varying elements within the post-rock genre on each of their releases. Interestingly enough, their latest album 'Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave,' seems like a good point to jump in and introduce yourself as they really have refined some things and bunched all of their good aspects together.

The record is prominently dark and moody, opener There's A Girl In The Corner sets this tone straight away and reinforces it with touches of distorted sytnh noises stabbing through the gentle rolling guitars and sullen vocals. Singer James Graham channels a little Morrissey as he sings songs of regret and self hatred, a theme that runs rampant throughout the album.

I Could Give You All That You Don't Want picks up the pace a little and introduces some hefty melodies as Graham's accent comes through as he sings out a romantic promise as the rhythm section and guitars slowly build to emphasise the writer's frantic position. This then breaks away for the atmospheric and spacious It Never Was The Same, an album highlight thanks to its simple yet intriguing beat, which lets the vocal lines wrap and intertwine amongst it. The record is often haunting splattered with glimmers of hope, which are eventually crushed by the overwhelming sadness.

The record’s title track takes a wall of sound approach coming in like a quieter Russian Circles given an indie rock twinge thanks to the vocals before the album closer, Sometimes I Wished I Could Fall Asleep, offers gentle ending with a piano laden song backed by a rumbling kick drum and the finest vocal performance on the record.

It's a sad affair but one that features some stunning instrumentation in a well rounded journey from start to finish. It's certainly not a pump up record, but The Twilight Sad may well have you delving into their back catalogue based on the beauty in this album.

1. There's A Girl In The Corner

2. Last January

3. I Could Give You All That You Don't Want

4. It Never Was The Same

5. Drown So I Can Watch

6. In Nowheres

7. Nobody Wants To Be Here & Nobody Wants To Leave

8. Pills I Swallow

9. Leave The House

10. Sometimes I Wished I Could Fall Asleep