Born in the Dominican Republic, raised in Venice, Fl and now residing in Brooklyn, Ny, Twin Shadow is the moniker for George Lewis Jr. His chillwave project seems to be all the buzz since he's released his latest record "Confess", the follow up to his acclaimed debut "Forget". I haven't talked to or heard much from George Lewis Jr since we all partied at the Light Painters Gallery on Central Ave in Sarasota around Y2K. In fact, my memories of those days were so drug and alchohol induced, they are but a fleeting glimpse in my mind as I type. So that being said, I don't know much about this guy. But he seems like a man that has no good intentions when it comes to women, love or anything related to those two things, for that matter. 

 

 

This bad boy persona looks like it will play a helpful role in Lewis' stepping out of the indie rock spotlight and more towards to a self-made-pop-heart-throb. It's an move that would otherwise be appauling if "Confess" didn't make it very clear that Lewis is a man capable of achieving it. His brutal lyrics, pop hooks and shimmering production are all over the mostly self produced record.

 

 

Lewis alludes to the inspiration for Confess coming from a motorcycle ride he took after recovering from a violent motorcycle accident. The seduction of the freedom of the highway mixed with the imminent threat of bloody violence. The record also sounds like it's more inspired by the big boys like Springsteen and Prince rather than the Psychedelic Furs and Depeche Mode. Not to say that the record isn't slathered in synth leads and slithering guitar, because it's there. It just doesn't sound like it's so abjectively 80's throwback as his debut record "Forget" does.

 

 

Being inspired by a high speed motorcycle ride, this album is definitely worthy of a long highway road. On a vocal level, Lewis' passages range from croony and vulnerable to belting and almost angry. The songs gnarl, seduce, ebb and flow between each ascending verse and exploding chorus. Just take a listen to the hooky first single "Five Seconds" and you'll know what i'm talking about.  

 

 

 

Lewis' portrays himself as tortured lover, a protagonist as equally conspiring as the vicious liars and dirty lovers that make up his lyrics. Confess, is a sexy, masculine record but hardly misogynistic, whereas sex is looked upon as any other drug, a substance that destroys a user that uses it to fill a void. 

 

 

 

 

This acrid and venomous content in Confess helps us understand the difference between Twin Shadow's two, one-word-titled records. Forget alluded to post-breakup memories where he was simply better off removing them from his mind, whereas Confess just seems like a man saying what he wants and challenging everything.

 

 

You can download "Confess" at www.twinshadow.net