The Twilight Sad – IT'S THE LONG GOODBYE

It seems difficult to fathom Kilsyth’s The Twilight Sad as Scottish indie veterans. But we are fast approaching the 20th anniversary of their incendiary debut. Perhaps even more surprising is that IT'S THE LONG GOODBYE is the first record by the band (now officially a duo of vocalist James Graham and guitarist/producer Andy MacFarlane) in seven years. However, album opener GET AWAY FROM IT ALL immediately sets the scene for the long delay, describing in great detail Graham’s struggle with his mother’s dementia and the effect it's having on him mentally.

Over their two-decade-spanning career, The Twilight Sad have always been an act incrementally adding to their sound. Every record since their humble beginnings in shoegaze-folk has introduced elements reflecting where Graham and MacFarlane are as musicians and as people. Songs became more direct, squelchy synths arrived, The Cure’s Robert Smith became a key collaborator, and layers upon layers of guitar interplay peppered in a more texturally rich approach to the all-out wall of sound.

IT'S THE LONG GOODBYE, the band’s sixth record, is the culmination of all the subtle evolution that has progressed from the very beginning. Wrestling with heartbreaking themes of loss and anguish, this confident collection shines light on the dark. DEAD FLOWERS, the maurauding centrepiece, for instance, begins cerebral and threatening, before a mid-song turn shows a more hopeful prospect, exploding out of the traps in classic Sad style, resulting in the emotional catharsis the band have mastered in their oeuvre.

Elsewhere, they dabble in a similar, almost poppy, post-punk to Fontaines D.C. on the excellent CHEST WOUND TO THE CHEST, Graham giving one of his most infectious melodies of all time. Smith, who for the first time actively performs on record for the band, has his influence a little too keenly felt on INHOSPITABLE/HOSPITAL, but elsewhere provides excellent turns on tracks like lead single WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL and BACK TO FOURTEEN.

Album closer TV PEOPLE STILL THROWING TVS AT PEOPLE ends on a cliffhanger, slowly building in tension while Graham repeatedly asks himself, ‘Is it OK to feel this way? / I don’t want to feel this way!’ before finally, seemingly answering ‘No, I don’t want to feel this way’. In the record’s final breath, however, Graham questions himself again, leaving it open-ended. There is no definitive answer in life, but this record is an incredible ride in questioning it

Listen to: WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL, DEAD FLOWERS, CHEST WOUND TO THE CHEST