Emerging from the Twilight

Following on from the gig review below, I thought I'd post an interview I conducted with the Twilight Sad back in April. Enjoy!

Upon the release of The Twilight Sad’s debut ‘Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters’ critics were quick to praise its multi-layered atmospherics and dark intensity. However while the album was released in April of last year, it was only in the latter half of 2007 that the band started getting serious attention.
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters topped more than one end-of year poll, and was even given the dubious honour of being included in the News of the World’s top ten albums. “That was completely daft” laughs singer James Graham. “We were up there with people like Girls Aloud and the Klaxons!”
Clearly the seal of tabloid approval hasn’t gone to James’ head. “It’s been one of those slow-burning kind of albums” he concedes. “The critics liked it when it first came out, but not many people came to the gigs! But people picked-up on the reviews, word-of-mouth spread, and more people started coming to see us.”
Andy McFarlane, bassist Craig Orzel, and drummer Mark Devine intend to start work on their second album soon, but to tide fans over in the meantime they’ve decided to release an EP ‘Here, it never snowed Afterwards it did’ on June 9. “It’s basically different versions of songs from the first album, with one brand new song added” explains James. “The idea for the EP all started when we played this place called the Union Chapel in London. There were noise restrictions which meant we couldn’t play at our usual volume, so we had to re-work our songs to make them quieter.”
To help with recording those quieter versions the band enlisted the services of ex-Aerogramme bassist Campbell and Laura from My Latest Novel on violin. “I wouldn’t say it’s an acoustic album” says James. “Even though it’s quieter Andy couldn’t help noising things up a bit!”
For their live shows, the band recently recruited Dak, another former Aerogramme man, to add organ, samples and guitar. “We’re still as noisy live as ever” assures James. “Having Dak there just moves it up a level and adds more layers to the sound. It also gives Andy more freedom to muck about.”
It’s clear to anyone who has seen them that The Twilight Sad are a different beast live than they are on record. “It would be impossible to pull-off everything on the album live” James says. “Anyway I always think its boring when you see a band live and they just replicate the record. We made a conscious decision to make our live performances a different experience from the records. It’s more visceral”
The band’s recent sold-out show in Glasgow King Tut’s shows they’ve now built-up a strong fanbase on their home turf, but it was America where they got their first taste of recognition. “It was the label’s decision to send us over there and we got great reviews” says James. “We got the chance to play some great festivals and support some great bands. Then we’d go home and we’d be playing in Nice N’ Sleazy’s in front of our mums and dads and a few of our mates!”
In the past Scottish bands like Teenage Fanclub and My Bloody Valentine have made their mark Stateside and now The Twilight Sad are doing the same. Perhaps then its no surprise that James has a great affinity for American bands. “A lot of the best music right now is coming out of the States, I’m really into Animal Collective and Panda Bear” he says. “The National as well, they’re a great band. I think a lot of UK music’s a bit shit at the moment to be honest.”
Contentious words, but maybe he has a point. If the UK music scene is not all it could be then perhaps we need bands like The Twilight Sad to redress the balance, and its evident James is anxious to return to the studio. “We’re proud of our first album but we just want to move on and better ourselves with the next one.” he says. “We don’t want to replicate what we did on the first. Hopefully we’ll have a new album out by this time next year.”
So, what are Twilight Sad’s hopes for 2008? “I hope we can get through the next year without killing each other!” laughs James. “Touring around in a van all the time does something to you!” He estimates the band played around 160 gigs last year and 2008 looks like it could be even busier with a European tour and a summer of festivals ahead.
However, despite the van-induced homicidal tendencies, touring does have its perks. “We were supporting Beirut on tour, which was amazing because I’m a massive fan” recalls James. “When we were in Denmark I actually got the chance to sing three songs with him, which was mind-blowing!”
It turns our life on the road isn’t so bad after all. “Honestly, even though we’re not making much money at the moment, it’s great just to be able to do this for a living” says James. “It’s a privilege, although I admit I still sign on now and then!”


This article originally appeared on the website 'Real Buzz'
http://www.realbuzz.com/en-gb/Emerging_from_the_Twilight/
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