Twin Shadow? You remember him, the beats and soul bloke who did the excellent “Five Seconds” a coupla years ago. I think I saw him live once and he was like Blood Orange at the time –all dark stage and better living with machines. An apt comparison because I’m writing about his cover of the Smith’s “There’s A Light That Never Goes Out” , recorded with one Samantha Urbani of Friends who is dating Mr. Orange himself Dev Hynes.
Oddly, that makes three iffy live acts in a row. Friends were a real bummer at Bowery Ballroom a year ago, last night of the tour and they seemed worn out and maybe that’s why but we didn’t get their A game that’s for sure. And Blood Orange was nonexistent at Radio City.
Anyway, here are Twin Shadow and Sam and twin has a smile on his face: “Everything I do, I mean sincerely, but there is a little joke within this one,” he tells Rookie, speaking of the cover. “In every critique of Twin Shadow, there is a dropping of Morrissey’s name, which I always thought was funny because I have never really been a huge fan of Morrissey or the Smiths. [Laughs] So it’s a nod to people calling me “the Dominican Morrissey”
“I think part of it is just that the trend in underground music the last 20 years has been to sing in a high, sort of whiny voice—coming from that MGMT, John Lennon place. I have a gloomy, low-ish voice, so I think people attach that to Morrissey.”
The Dominican Moz????
Well, anyway. I don’t dislike it at all. Samantha takes the high notes, Twin follows on the low and the beats are trancy and lovely. And then it kinda stops and regroups and starts aain then they nearly harmonize and then they hit a ten ton truck.
Grade: B+
