Published on July 8th, 2012 | by greg
0Twin Shadow: Confess:: Review
Confess is George Lewis Jr.’s second album under his Twin Shadow guise and it was born of isolated early morning motorcycle rides through the streets of his adopted city of Los Angeles. These rides inspired Lewis and he reached an epiphany that was soon to be expressed in song. Lewis stated that as the speedometer would ratchet upwards, “My mind was clear. I inched toward 100 on the speedometer and punched the last five. TON UP! My mind is filled with words. My heart is full of love. This is where I want to be. I want to stay here, and I want to tell you everything.” And so Lewis does on Confess, switching from the Simple Minds and Psychedelic Furs influence that he mastered on his 2010 Chris Taylor produced Forget and into the realm of 80′s era Prince and Bruce Springsteen.
Confess opens with the vaguely Peter Gabriel-like “Golden Light” as a cascading synth dominates the engine of a slowly revving keyboard. The angular new-wavisms of “You Call Me On” recalls Ray Parker Jr. complete with squelched keyboard accompaniment. It isn’t until “5 Seconds” that Confess hits its stride and Lewis Jr. exquisitely plays the role of scorned lover-man complete with a popped collar. Lewis Jr.’s lover-man isn’t as much of a sympathetic character on Confess and he seems more demanding than innocent and wounded. The strong personality that Lewis Jr. exhibits on tracks like “Beg For The Night” and The Police-influenced “Run My Heart” befits those that ride motorcycles and adds a sense of daring to the complicated Confess.
Lewis Jr. veers through emotions as quickly as a motorcyclist does traffic as Confess comes to a halt. “I Don’t Care” and “Be Mine Tonight” are tracks that celebrate necessary relationship deception and are echoed in the hidden track, “Mirror in the Dark” where Lewis Jr. begrudgingly acknowledges his faults. Whether Lewis Jr. is ready to make a change is a different story.
Rating: 
