Forget combines the rich, dark, and lovelorn elements of 1980's pop music into a record that transcends genre. George Lewis, Jr. (aka Twin Shadow) skillfully uses tropes of the era--dramatic synthesizers, down-cast drum machines, somber guitar-lines--to give a meaningful and mysterious undercurrent to the romance and heartbreak of his music. The results are dazzling.
The sound of the album exists somewhere in the hazy space between dance and pop music; the soft glow of Chris Taylor's (Grizzly Bear) production casts an intimate shadow over the entire record, giving a late-night and alone-together quality to the music. Lyrically, the record conjures up visual nostalgia tailor-made for individual listeners; the excitement of new relationships, the heat of sexual drama, and the dissolution of love are exquisitely enveloped in a veil of intimacy. Atmosphere is everything.
If David Bowie had anything left in his creative tank after 1983's Let's Dance, he might have made an album that sounded like Forget. (Rather than the forgettable Tonight). With allusive nods to Morrissey, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, and even the general idea of what the 1980's were supposed to sound like, Twin Shadow has transformed revivalism and created something telling and timely.
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