Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Review: Eugene Twist – The Boy Who Had Everything


Eugene Twist – The Boy Who Had Everything (Independent)
Glaswegian singer-songwriter Eugene Twist seems to be making lots of friends with his debut album “The Boy Who Had Everything”. Just eight songs long, its mix of clever arrangements, bright, idiosyncratic songwriting and a quirky pop stance is overwhelmingly appealing from the off.

Lead track “If There’s Love Where I’m Going” takes classic, jaunty pop hooks, adds an intermittent squawking sax and tension building slabs of electricity to a feverishly strummed acoustic guitar, and some sort of musical nirvana results. It’s a musical state of mind that’s repeated on “Tough Act To Follow”, a distillation of Roddy Frame-esque nous and wonderful Brill Building trickery – it sails dangerously close to perfection.

“Gaugin” continues the lush retro vibe, its melody propelled by keys and guitars, with young Twist structuring peaks of pure gold from subtle vocal meanderings and delicate melodic curves. The album concludes with the wistful, languid “Actress On A Mattress”, its stripped back, hazy ambiance and melancholic mood providing a gentle, satisfying exit.
Simon M.

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