Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

The Twilight Sad cover Joy Division

Photo via Fat CatFat CatScots The Twilight Sad don’t come across as the cheeriest folks you’ll meet, at least not musically. Though subsequent releases have seen the band becoming a touch more interested in atmospherics and dialing down the sonic blitzkrieg a bit, their 2007 debut Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters is still a towering example of angst made audible, in deafening fashion.

And it’s that aesthetic – massive, roaring guitars and James Graham’s thick Scottish brogue – that the band brings to this live Joy Division cover, taken from last year’s tour-only album of odds and sods, Killed My Parents And Hit The Road. Song and structure-wise, it’s done pretty faithfully, but sounds as if all that anxiety and tension that was wound up in Ian Curtis’ voice is let loose in a torrent of guitar. I approve.

The Twilight Sad are opening up for Mogwai on first leg of their North American tour, finishing up this week in Chicago but not before they play Toronto on Monday night at the Phoenix. Then it’s back to Scotland where they’re working on final mixes of their next album. In this interview with Citizen Dick a couple months ago, they said that they were looking at an October 2009 release with more North American touring to follow.

MP3: The Twilight Sad – “Twenty Four Hours”
Video: Joy Division – “Twenty Four Hours” (fan video)

By : Frank Yang at 9:42 am
Category: Chromewaves Radio

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  1. Dan Dickinson says:

    Their cover of the YYY’s “Modern Romance” on that same album is even approvier, says I.

  2. Stu says:

    For the record, had the pleasure of touring for a month with the Twilight Sad gents, and they’re all hilarious scotsmen. Their onstage persona is pretty much the polar opposite of their offstage personalities. Great guys.