Seismic-Sound Preview: The Twilight Sad at The Tractor. March 10th, 2012

If you haven’t heard The Twilight Sad, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Originating from Kilsyth, Scotland and consisting of members James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar), and Mark Devine (drums), and now just releasing their third album No One Can Ever Know on Fat Cat records. Its seems as though this band is here for the long term.
Every album evolving and morphing into a little something different, but yet maintaining that “Twilight sound”. When asked about their sound, they replied “Folk with layers of noise. All of our songs are based around our hometown, personal experiences or people we know.”

When asked about influences, the range goes from Daniel Johnston, Leonard Cohen, Arab Strap, to Public Image Ltd, Autechre and Liars as key inspirations. I certainly can hear a little of The Editors in their sound as well.
Where the band’s recorded sound is well layered with many melodies involved, their live sound is a lot more  intense experience with a bit more visceral wall of noise, which is something the band has apparently strided for. Graham stated, “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.”

Although I feel the band’s music is generally described as “anthemic” and “arena-friendly,” the band has been quoted as saying 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.”

With that said, taking the opportunity to see these Scotish lads in a venue as small as The Tractor Tavern in Ballard is going to be one hell of a show, because across the pond, their audiences would die to see them in a intimate setting like this.
The Twilight Sad– “Another Bed”