Album Review: Twin Shadow Clears the Electronic Fog on Major-Label Debut ‘Eclipse’ — billboard.com

On his third album, Twin Shadow pivots away from the past -- both pop music's and his own. But what has been sacrificed in the name of progress? In recent interviews, George Lewis Jr., the 31-year-old singer/producer/multi-­instrumentalist behind Twin Shadow, has criticized his ­earlier work -- filled with foggy layers of synths and drum machines that drew comparisons to Depeche Mode and Simple Minds -- for ­speaking in "code," a "specific language" that tends to exclude. Eclipse is his first full-length since shifting from the ­boutique-label ambience of 4AD to the ­fluorescent exposure of Warner Music. And now, he says, coincidentally or not, that his music is no longer "elitist." Yet the "specific language" an ­artist uses is not only a strategic defense system -- it's an aesthetic, not to be discarded blithely. It's true that Eclipse unveils itself less coyly than previous Twin Shadow albums, and sounds more brashly contemporary. But it hazards turning generic in the process.

Read More