Friday 16 November 2012

Twin Atlantic at Shepherds Bush Empire


What a difference a year makes! I last saw Twin Atlantic in Brighton at a smallish venue called The Haunt. It was pretty busy and the band clearly had plenty of fans, but they weren’t yet of the die-hard variety. I think many, like me, were new to the game, having stumbled across a little song called Make a Beast of Myself – a real treat in that the video is every bit as good as the song.

© Twin Atlantic
I’ll admit I was a little late to catch on – Make a Beast of Myself was in fact the fourth single off their 2011 album Free. Twin Atlantic formed back in 2007 and they have already toured with the likes of Biffy Clyro, Smashing Pumpkins and Taking Back Sunday (a gentle reminder that once in a while I should really go and check out the support at gigs instead of filling my face with Nando’s). They have also played a handful of big festivals, but somehow they hadn’t quite hit the big time.

Fast forward to last Thursday and Twin Atlantic were performing to a sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire, and wow there is a lot of love now for the boys from Glasgow. Even the people seated on the balconies spent most of the night on their feet!

I have a sneaking suspicion that this display of enthusiasm was partly due to the fact the audience had youth on their side. They were young, and I mean very young. I can safely say I haven’t felt so old since my assistant told me that she had never heard of Ally McBeal. I should have sussed that something was up when we arrived and that kid from Busted was on stage. I know, I know, I should probably be a little more open minded. But it is kind of hard to forget the fact that he was… well, in Busted.

Anyway, age aside, it would be unfair to take anything away from Twin Atlantic, the enthusiasm was mostly because they were great – an incredibly strong performance and a positive attitude that makes you like them all the more. The tour was a successful promotion of Free, and it really is an album full of the kind of songs you can’t help but sing along to – in your very best Scottish accent of course (seriously, listen to Crash Land and tell me I’m wrong!).

Make a Beast of Myself was the final song of the night, and subsequently the tour, and was accompanied by some pretty special giant Twin Atlantic balloons and a huge amount of thanks from a very appreciative Sam McTrusty, who I think is as impressed by their recent skywards trajectory as I am. It felt like a celebration of all the hard graft they have put in which is certainly paying off.

I hope the incredibly young audience isn’t a completely accurate representation of their fan base these days, I’d hate it to make them any less credible when they clearly have a lot more to offer. I can't really pin down their sound with an obvious comparison, and I think that is always a compliment. I’ll leave you with the song that first made me sit up and pay attention, because quite honestly, it speaks for itself.



@twinatlantic
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