The Twilight Sad
is an indie rock band from Kilsyth, Scotland, comprising James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar, accordion), Craig Orzel (bass, glockenspiel) and Mark Devine (drums). The band's debut album, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
, was released on FatCat Records in 2007, drawing widespread critical acclaim. [1]
The band credit Planet Sound for giving them their first review, when a demo of their song "That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy" received a 9/10 rating from the magazine in 2005. Singer, James Graham, remarked "That was the first review we ever had... we were thrilled. It gave us a lot of confidence we were on the right path." [2] The debut LP was lauded as 2007's album of the year in Planet Sound and The Skinny. [3]
The band's second studio album, entitled Forget the Night Ahead
will be released on September 21, 2009.
|
THE TWILIGHT SAD TICKETS
|
History
Beginnings
The foundation for the group started when vocalist James Graham met guitarist Andy MacFarlane in high school and went on to form a cover band with some friends, which included drummer Mark Devine. After graduating school, they decided to take it more seriously. In late 2003, MacFarlane met bassist Craig Orzel in a bus stop and invited him to join the newly formed band.
They performed two highly experimental shows at
The 13th Note in Glasgow, that revolved around 30-minutes noise jams with guitars, bass, drums, theremin, tape loops from films and old folk and country songs, effects pedals, toy keyboards, thumb pianos and computer games. Afterwards, they decided to take a more traditional approach, which led them to write their first song: "
That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy"
[4]
In September 2005, they produced a 4-song demo with a 24-track desk, trying to get the best representation as possible, sent it over to Brighton-based Fat Cat Records. Alex Knight, co-founder of Fat Cat Records, went to Glasgow to watch the band perform their third gig and signed them on the spot.
[5] [6]
Fourteen Autums & Fifteen Winters
The band released their debut studio album,
Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
in 2007, to widespread critical acclaim. During this time, the band supported acts such as
Mogwai,
The Smashing Pumpkins,
Snow Patrol,
Micah P. Hinson,
David Pajo,
Battles,
Beirut and
Idlewild.
Forget the Night Ahead
In December 2008, Graham told
The Skinny that the band: "have definitely moved on from
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
, musically and lyrically. One thing that I can promise is that the lyrics are very dark, but you might have to look into them a bit to realise. They are mainly based around things that have happened to me over the past two years, revolving mainly around losing people and being none too proud or happy with myself about my antics and situations I’ve found myself in."
[7]
Musically they describe it as "noisier and bigger", where they experimented with a lot of instruments and different sounds, including fire extinguishers.
[8] About the progression from their debut album, they've noted "The songs on the first album were the first proper songs we had ever written together, so we were always going to progress from that. We've developed as songwriters since the first record and we definitely tried to make it feel like a complete record instead of a bunch of songs just thrown together."
[9]
Music Style and Influences
When asked to described their music, Graham says the band likes to see their songs as folk with layers of noise, as they are based on experiences that have happened to them, around their hometowns or people they know.
[10] They often cite the works of
Daniel Johnston,
Serge Gainsbourg,
Phil Spector,
Arab Strap and
Leonard Cohen as influences.
Where the band’s recorded sound is layered with many melodies, their live sound is a more intense experience with a more visceral wall of noise, something the band wanted to do all along.
“We like having the contrast between the record and playing live. There are a lot more instruments on the record. There’s only four of us in the band, so we have to keep it as simple as possible. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like going to see a band that sounds just like their album. That’s what we try not to do.”
[11]
Although the band's music is generally described as anthemic and arena-friendly, they are quick to say their ambition is quite simple: "We don't want to be festival headliners, we just want to make enough money that we can stay in a band and keep making music."
[12]
Members
Core Members
- James Graham - vocals (2003-present)
- Andy MacFarlane - guitar, accordion (2003-present)
- Craig Orzel - bass, glockenspiel (2003-present)
- Mark Devine - drums (2003-present)
Live Members
- Martin "Dok" Docherty - keyboards, various instruments (2008-present)
Discography
Studio Albums
- Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
(2007)
- Forget the Night Ahead
(2009)
EPs
- The Twilight Sad
(2006)
- Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did
(2008)
Compilations
- Killed My Parents and Hit the Road
(2008)
Singles
- "That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy" (2007)
- "And She Would Darken the Memory" (2007)
- "I Became a Prostitute" (2009)
Song appearances
- 2008 - Saints Row 2
- "And She Would Darken the Memory"
Side Projects
Under the name Orzelda
[13], bassist Craig Orzel released a solo album,
The Wee Shop is Filled With Delights
, in 2008.
[14]
Guitarist Andy MacFarlane composed
The Wea-ther Is Bad
for Semicondutor's short film,
Brillant Noise
, a film pieced together from archive NASA footage of the sun’s surface.
[15]
Singer James Graham appears on the live album from
Frightened Rabbit,
Quietly Now!
. Graham appears on the track "Keep Yourself Warm".
[16]