Summer is coming to a slow and humid close and the autumn season is upon us, waiting up in the clouds as we sweat out the last few weeks of August. I've already started to listen to and associate some albums to the cool breeze and foliage, but I might have jumped the gun without giving the summer jams a perfect ending.
The perfect ending I'm talking about is NJ's [by way of Philadelphia and NYC] The Twin Atlas and their new album Good Light. One quick skim through the tracks and it's already possible to see why I chose this duo comprised of Sean Byrne and Lucas Zaleski to call it a season.
Good Light opens with "The Ever Present" - an ambient jam to help you find a good spot in the air conditioned house as you reflect on the wildness of summer. The vocals come in at the 1:10 mark and it's impossible to see the stand-out Beach Boys influence [never a bad thing]. Underneath the thick harmonies, we are reminded to "shine on the rest of your days."
"Versions" is the self-proclaimed single of the album and it's obvious as to why. This shoe-gazer has tons of catchy hooks, a solid bass line and a late 80's vibe to help you bring back not only memories of the summer, but memories of the past. Unfortunately, the only bad thing about this song is that it's not long enough. Once you're ready to get in and jam it out, it's a little too late as the 2:29 mark rudely cuts it off.
MP3 :: The Twin Atlas - Versions
Thankfully, "Reach Across" picks up where Versions left off and brings the shoe-gazing closer to eye level. Once again, the song is quickly cut off and you're left with wanting way more [this is a recurring theme, by the way].
As we skip a few songs to save the length of this review, we are brought to one hell of a stand-out track entitled "Fill The Sky" which is one of the longer songs on the album with a total running time of 3:05. An all instrumental diddy which puts more of that 80's influence aside and steps up the ambient rock vibe [which I'm a sucker for - ie: explosions in the sky].
MP3 :: The Twin Atlas - Fill The Sky
As we near the end of Good Light, "Pink House" brings back the shoe-gazing without cutting off the enjoyment of the song too soon with it's 3:50 running time. Another stand-out track for me would be the short but very very sweet "Walk Thoughts." The album ends with "Never Disappear" which is exactly what you want to say since you know Good Light and summer are almost over.
MP3 :: The Twin Atlas - Never Disappear
All in all, Good Light is the perfect ending to a summer full of highs [not that kind, brah], hangovers and most importantly, memories.
Good Light is physically out next Tuesday, Aug 25th [via Tappersize], but you can download the entire thing right now @ iTunes and/or stream it at their website.
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