Glasgow’s Twin Atlantic do a good job of sounding suspiciously familiar and completely, refreshingly new at the same time. Cleverly sidestepping the current trend of post-emo pop-“punk”, they plough ahead with their own uniquely anthemic sound.
It would be lazy of us to make a comparison to Biffy Clyro, but it’s not totally unwarranted: intricate, brooding verses give way to oversized choruses and just like Biffy Clyro, Twin Atlantic have arena-sized song-writing skills. Usually when a band write songs this huge for their second album, the results are embarrassing for everyone involved. Not the case with ‘Free’, which is brimming with grown up, intense songs from beginning to end.
The fact that Twin Atlantic are on Red Bull Records is a bit disturbing and would normally prompt an extended monologue about the dim future of the record industry, but to be honest, if Red Bull are using their corporate soft drink dollars to fund albums as intelligent and downright brilliant as this, you’d be crazy to complain.
There are two tracks that stick out like a sore thumb here: ‘Ghost Of Eddie’ and ‘Serious Underground Dance Vibes’. The first is a dirty little angular, post-hardcore-tinged freakout and the second is a slow-burning instrumental that comes out of nowhere and just floors you with its heaviness! They stick out because they highlight why Twin Atlantic are so good at what they do: they’re just unafraid to experiment. When anthemic arena-style rock is done badly, it’s seriously bad news. When it’s done well, it’s mind-blowing. This record is done insanely well. This writer is not one to use this word, ever, but ‘Free’ is just epic, in the truest sense of the word.
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