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In the Post #79: The Twilight Sad – Kill It in the Morning

Editor’s note: Your watch is correct. No, it’s not noon yet. Normally we only post MP3s of the Day features at 10 in the morning and longer reviews later in the day. But because we have so much new stuff to post today, we’re switching things up.

The Twilight Sad are getting ready to release their third album, called ‘No One Can Ever Know’ in early 2012. Judging from the new song Fat Cat has offered up as a taster to the new release, ‘Kill It in the Morning’, the band have done an Editors / Keane: they’ve gone the way of the synthesiser. The vibe of the track has been compared to Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails, two bands you probably never thought you’d see in the same sentence with the act that brought you ‘I Became a Prostitute’. Fat Cat describes the track as “sinister-yet-melodic peek into the newly keyboard/programming-driven approach they’ve taken on the new LP”. Hmm.

To me, it’s heavy-handed: it’s still dark and morose, as the band has always been, but it’ll be interesting where they go from here, since there is more chance to experiment and spread their wings with this new chapter of their career. In particular, James Graham’s Scottish brogue above electronic sounds works surprisingly well.

Clearly, no-one knows what’s going on with the Twilight Sad except the band themselves. But I can sense already what is going on in their fans’ minds, because as previously mentioned, this shift occurred with Editors and Keane on their latest albums, favouring keyboards and programming that would have never been considered on their earlier albums. While this shift could gain them many new fans, it’s a big risk to alienate your devoted fanbase after 4+ years. The band’s first single from the new album, ‘Sick’, is due out on the 15th of November and hopefully we’ll see the Sad’s new colours by then. I, for one, welcome this new direction. But then again, I was never a fan of the Twilight Sad, so who am I to judge? Listen to the song and see for yourself. If you like it, you can get the song free through the widget below.

8/10

‘No One Can Ever Know’, the new album from the Twilight Sad, will be released in February 2012. ‘Sick’, the first single from the album will be available for digital download on the 15th of November.