Twin Shadow - Caer

Twin Shadow
Caer
2018
Spotify

George Lewis Jr. or Twin Shadow as He's better known has always felt like He was on the verge of something. His two past records were deep introspective looks at pop music, and what that sound could mean. Caer "to fall" in Spanish sees Twin Shadow go straight to the heart of 80s inspired electropop, almost ditching the darkness for a moment. This album more than the others feels a bit hollow, and like it is searching for it's own identity for the moment it starts. Each song especially "Saturdays" which features Haim are right on the edge of something great but there always seems to be something missing. It is almost like Twin Shadow can't sell his own music the way He can write and produce for others. It feels like in his search for epicness He meanders through a lot of weird ideas. "18 Years" has this almost Talking Heads style delivery at times. This album might have worked far better if it came out three years ago. Any song more than three minutes begins to feel a bit like a chore, hanging on to a line of music for longer than it deserves. Twin Shadow has always felt like He was punching up, swinging for the rafters when He should aim slightly lower. His misses seem all that larger because...well... they are. The thing is as always his productions sound absolutely incredible and rich, they just lack that special punch that would allow them to break through.

Dev Hynes suffered a similar fate until his most recent album, and really what made that one special was the features. IN a world where producers want to be front and center of their music, there still has to be a way for them to sell it to the public. The 13 songs only take 41 minutes but it feels so much longer and stranger. It's almost frustrating how much Twin Shadow refuses to get to the point sometimes on this record. The songs where He has features are far more successful, but still not enough to power this album through. He always feels so close to something great, that when he misses the mark it is all the more frustrating. "Runaway" is such a good example of this, it builds and builds begging for some kind of grand emotional release but then instead it just fades out, leaving you unsatisfied as all hell. Caer is yet another Twin Shadow album that you want to be better, I just hasn't happened yet.

5.3 out of 10