Twin Shadow - Eclipse

Twin Shadow
Eclipse
2015

Twin Shadow is a man of two minds. On one hand his music can be indie synth rock while on the other he is making straight up catchy pop songs. He exists in both worlds, straddling the line which is nothing new. Bands forever have tried to make catchy pop music while still trying to keep their independent roots alive, the problem with Twin Shadow and Eclipse is that it never really works. Because he isn't making a decision one way or another the music suffers from being completely one note. He never really elevates or expands on either genre which stagnates the record. The song writing is quite generic like many pop songs are, but the alt-synth music also comes across as generic. It all is just a bit of a jumbled mess and the direction on the album never really comes across.

The one track I do think works well is "I'm Ready". This is by far the most concise song on the record, it has a path and it sticks right to it. I think the most frustrating thing about the album is the potential you hear in every single song. With little production tweaks or someone giving Twin Shadow some tips on what exactly this album could be would really take this music to another level. I really have no doubt that there will be some truly incredible remixes that come out of this album because it is ripe for it. For now however Eclipse just doesn't make the grade. It's a miss for me.

5 out of 10