The Glaswegian four piece Twin Atlantic have become immensely popular, exploding onto the scene in 2007 after releasing their EP “A Guidance From Colour”. They played at Reading Festival last year and have toured with big names such as Biffy Clyro, Smashing Pumpkins and Blink182. Since this brilliant start they have now produced two outstanding albums.
They released their newest album “Free” in May of this 2011 with Red Bull Records. I enjoyed listening to it immensely, it followed on well from their first album “Vivarium” keeping the same tone of upbeat and catchy tracks with the lilting Scottish vocals of Sam McTrusty.
The title track was definitely one of the strongest number on the album, starting with the opening of echoing piano chords and haunting vocals until the drums and guitar come crashing in. The lyrics of this song are heartfelt and powerful “I fell in love with rock and roll/’Till I found out it was false” and “Where’s your passion? Where’s your fire tonight? I set myself on fire so I could be free”. The bands fiery nature definitely comes across in this track. This song displays well the contrast in the vocals from soft and lyrical to harsh and brash that McTrusty uses in many of the songs.
Undoubtedly, one of the best tracks on the album is “Crash Land” which is a beautiful acoustic number. Sam McTrusty passionate vocals over a basic yet effective complimentary guitar part. The softer second rendition of the lines “Crash land, still I can’t find you/ And just as things were looking up.” gives a nice contrast and shows variety in McTrusty’s vocals. Barry Mckenna gets one of his rare opportunities to have a cello part in this track and it adds a certain Celtic element to the song. I always have time for band like in this case Twin Atlantic and the likes of Yellowcard who incorporate other strings into their tracks giving some of their tracks a slightly folk rock style.
All in all I think this was a beautifully compiled album. My only quibble with it is that the first track was a bit of a letdown and wasn’t as strong as many of the other songs on the album. It didn’t show off as an opening to the album at all and was not as original as some of their other numbers nor as catchy.
The original sound of the band is something that I find very endearing. Twin Atlantic have a refreshing variety in their repertoire and the tracks “We Want Better Man” and “The Ghost of Eddie” are heavier than the rest with a different vibe. This may not be their usual fans cup of tea but I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace. I also loved the break in the album supplied by the mellow instrumental track “Serious Underground Dance Vibe” which is a nice break in the album. It let the band show off without being overshadowed by vocals. Having recently discovering this band I am extremely impressed with their two albums and their EP and would highly recommend this album.
