Forget the Night Ahead
Encyclopedia
Forget the Night Ahead is the second studio album by Scottish
indie rock
band The Twilight Sad
, released by Fat Cat Records
on September 22, 2009 in the US, and on 5 October 2009 in the UK. The album was produced by guitarist Andy MacFarlane and recorded and mixed by Paul Savage
at Chem19 Studios in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
, Scotland
. The album features the singles "I Became a Prostitute
", "Seven Years of Letters
", and "The Room
".
The album is the last to feature bassist Craig Orzel, who subsequently left the band in early 2010.
, musically and lyrically. One thing that I can promise is that the lyrics are very dark, but you might have to look into them a bit to realise. They are mainly based around things that have happened to me over the past two years, revolving mainly around losing people and being none too proud or happy with myself about my antics and situations I've found myself in. So if you're looking for a record with a lot of hope and happy songs then fuck off, 'cause you won't find it here with us! Maybe on the third album when we all have coke
and heroin addictions things will start to look a bit brighter!"
The lyrics for the album were written during a two-month period after a close family member of Graham's died. "I didn't handle it very well at all, I started drinking far too much," said Graham in an interview with Planet Sound
.
About the recording process, guitarist and producer Andy MacFarlane said, "The recording was approached differently this time. We made a point of staying home to write. Writing on tour is a bad idea, so we stayed in Scotland for the full process. It let us go home after sessions – if we weren't getting snowed-in the studio – and we had more time to experiment and develop the ideas we had. We'd make a lot of use of an old, half-working, Roland Space Echo
that we'd plug the vocals, noise strings and piano through, that would get an out-of-tune effect, like some of the early krautrock
recordings. All the reverbs are natural, which were done by mic'ing up inside the studio walls and rooms on the other side of the building to get the drum sound. Three bass heads were blown up [in the process]. There are no big, long delayed guitars, just a lot more noisy ones and there were a few songs that maxed out the desk
because of the amount that's on there!"
About the different production style, Graham said, "We didn't want a polished pop record. The music just didn't lend itself to that style. Peter Katis
did a great job mixing the first record, but we didn't want to repeat the sound. It's not being deliberately contrary to go darker, it's a broader record too."
The album features a guest appearance by My Latest Novel
's Laura McFarlane, who plays violin on "The Room" and "That Birthday Present". She had previously collaborated with the band on the EP Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did
.
. On 3 August 2009, "I Became a Prostitute
" was released as the first single in the UK. The video premiered on 3 July 2009 on The Line of Best Fits website. The album's second single was "Seven Years of Letters
", released on 19 October 2009, and "The Room
" was released as the third single on 5 April 2010.
"Made to Disappear" features the album title in its lyrics. Graham said, "The album title is autobiographical. It got to the stage where I just wanted each to day to end as quickly as it could, and I'd get drunk so I wouldn't have to face the night's reality."
"The Neighbours Can't Breathe" first appeared as a live version on the 2008 compilation Killed My Parents and Hit the Road
, under the title of "Untitled #28". It's the band's first song to have its title taken from a line of its lyrics. An acoustic version of "The Room" was also included on the same compilation, with the title of "Untitled #27".
In September 2009, The Skinny published a track-by-track recount by guitarist Andy MacFarlane that included notes about the writing and recording process, as well as the inspiration behind some of the song titles.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a favourable score of 71, based on 18 reviews. Mojo
awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, while The Onion
s A.V. Club
stated the album "show[s] a band capable of muscling up without losing a fascination with fragile, fleeting moments."
Additional musicians
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The Twilight Sad
The Twilight Sad
The Twilight Sad are an indie rock band from Kilsyth, Scotland, comprising James Graham , Andy MacFarlane and Mark Devine . The band are currently signed to Fat Cat Records and have released two full-length albums, as well as several EPs and singles...
, released by Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop...
on September 22, 2009 in the US, and on 5 October 2009 in the UK. The album was produced by guitarist Andy MacFarlane and recorded and mixed by Paul Savage
Paul Savage
Paul Savage is a Scottish musician and record producer, best known for being the drummer in the Scottish indie rock group The Delgados.-Early life:...
at Chem19 Studios in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The album features the singles "I Became a Prostitute
I Became a Prostitute
"I Became a Prostitute" is a song by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad. The song was released as the first single from the band's second studio album, Forget the Night Ahead...
", "Seven Years of Letters
Seven Years of Letters
"Seven Years of Letters" is a song by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad. The song was released as the second single from the band's second studio album, Forget the Night Ahead. It was released on October 19, 2009 on Fat Cat Records...
", and "The Room
The Room (song)
"The Room" is a song by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad. The song was released as the third single from the band's second studio album, Forget the Night Ahead. It was released on April 5, 2010 on Fat Cat Records...
".
The album is the last to feature bassist Craig Orzel, who subsequently left the band in early 2010.
Background and recording
The band entered the studio in January 2009 to begin recording new songs. At this time, vocalist James Graham told The Skinny, "The band had definitely moved on from Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen WintersFourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters is the debut studio album by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad, released by Fat Cat Records on April 3, 2007 in the US, and May 7, 2007 in the UK. The album features production from Peter Katis and the band themselves...
, musically and lyrically. One thing that I can promise is that the lyrics are very dark, but you might have to look into them a bit to realise. They are mainly based around things that have happened to me over the past two years, revolving mainly around losing people and being none too proud or happy with myself about my antics and situations I've found myself in. So if you're looking for a record with a lot of hope and happy songs then fuck off, 'cause you won't find it here with us! Maybe on the third album when we all have coke
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and heroin addictions things will start to look a bit brighter!"
The lyrics for the album were written during a two-month period after a close family member of Graham's died. "I didn't handle it very well at all, I started drinking far too much," said Graham in an interview with Planet Sound
Planet Sound
Planet Sound was a Teletext music page on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK. It was broadcast on analogue Teletext from page 340, and on digital Teletext from page 820. From May 24, 2007, Planet Sound was also available to read online via the Teletext website...
.
About the recording process, guitarist and producer Andy MacFarlane said, "The recording was approached differently this time. We made a point of staying home to write. Writing on tour is a bad idea, so we stayed in Scotland for the full process. It let us go home after sessions – if we weren't getting snowed-in the studio – and we had more time to experiment and develop the ideas we had. We'd make a lot of use of an old, half-working, Roland Space Echo
Roland RE-201
The Roland RE-201, commonly known as the Space Echo, is an audio analog delay effects unit produced by the Roland Corporation.A tape echo device records incoming audio to a loop of magnetic tape, then replays the audio over a series of several playback heads before it is erased again by new...
that we'd plug the vocals, noise strings and piano through, that would get an out-of-tune effect, like some of the early krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
recordings. All the reverbs are natural, which were done by mic'ing up inside the studio walls and rooms on the other side of the building to get the drum sound. Three bass heads were blown up [in the process]. There are no big, long delayed guitars, just a lot more noisy ones and there were a few songs that maxed out the desk
Mixing console
In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
because of the amount that's on there!"
About the different production style, Graham said, "We didn't want a polished pop record. The music just didn't lend itself to that style. Peter Katis
Peter Katis
Peter Katis is an American record producer, engineer, mixer and musician.Working primarily out of his own residential studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Katis is best known for producing alternative and indie rock bands, especially for Fat Cat Records.-Biography:Katis attended New Canaan Country...
did a great job mixing the first record, but we didn't want to repeat the sound. It's not being deliberately contrary to go darker, it's a broader record too."
The album features a guest appearance by My Latest Novel
My Latest Novel
- Background :A four piece, , My Latest Novel are from the small town of Greenock, near Glasgow in Scotland. They augment the traditional rock line up of guitars, drums, bass and keyboards, with the use of violins, xylophones, samples and undulating percussion, as well as multi-part vocals...
's Laura McFarlane, who plays violin on "The Room" and "That Birthday Present". She had previously collaborated with the band on the EP Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did
Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did
-Credits:* James Alexander Graham – vocals, lyrics* Andy MacFarlane – guitar, accordion, noise, producer, mixing* Mark Devine – drums, percussion, mixing* Craig Orzel – bass, glockenspiel* Iain Cook – engineer, mixing, mastering...
.
Singles and tracks
On 13 May 2009, "Reflection of the Television" premiered as a free download on Pitchfork.comPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
. On 3 August 2009, "I Became a Prostitute
I Became a Prostitute
"I Became a Prostitute" is a song by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad. The song was released as the first single from the band's second studio album, Forget the Night Ahead...
" was released as the first single in the UK. The video premiered on 3 July 2009 on The Line of Best Fits website. The album's second single was "Seven Years of Letters
Seven Years of Letters
"Seven Years of Letters" is a song by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad. The song was released as the second single from the band's second studio album, Forget the Night Ahead. It was released on October 19, 2009 on Fat Cat Records...
", released on 19 October 2009, and "The Room
The Room (song)
"The Room" is a song by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad. The song was released as the third single from the band's second studio album, Forget the Night Ahead. It was released on April 5, 2010 on Fat Cat Records...
" was released as the third single on 5 April 2010.
"Made to Disappear" features the album title in its lyrics. Graham said, "The album title is autobiographical. It got to the stage where I just wanted each to day to end as quickly as it could, and I'd get drunk so I wouldn't have to face the night's reality."
"The Neighbours Can't Breathe" first appeared as a live version on the 2008 compilation Killed My Parents and Hit the Road
Killed My Parents and Hit the Road
The Twilight Sad Killed My Parents and Hit the Road is a limited edition compilation album by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad, released by Fat Cat Records on December 8, 2008. The compilation is composed of live tracks, covers and previously unreleased material, and was made to "help fund...
, under the title of "Untitled #28". It's the band's first song to have its title taken from a line of its lyrics. An acoustic version of "The Room" was also included on the same compilation, with the title of "Untitled #27".
In September 2009, The Skinny published a track-by-track recount by guitarist Andy MacFarlane that included notes about the writing and recording process, as well as the inspiration behind some of the song titles.
Critical reception
Forget the Night Ahead was released to generally positive reviews. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a favourable score of 71, based on 18 reviews. Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, while The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
s A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
stated the album "show[s] a band capable of muscling up without losing a fascination with fragile, fleeting moments."
Track listing
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 22, 2009 | Fat Cat Records Fat Cat Records Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop... |
CD / 2LP | FATCD77 / FATLP77 |
| United Kingdom | 5 October 2009 | |||
Musicians
The Twilight Sad- James Graham – vocals, lyrics
- Andy MacFarlane – guitars, compositions
- Craig Orzel – bass
- Mark Devine – drums
Additional musicians
- Martin Doherty – "noise strings"
- Laura McFarlane – violin on "The Room" and "That Birthday Present"
Production
Recording personnel- Andy MacFarlane – producer
- Paul SavagePaul SavagePaul Savage is a Scottish musician and record producer, best known for being the drummer in the Scottish indie rock group The Delgados.-Early life:...
– co-producer, recording, mixing - Marke Devine – co-producer
- Alan Douches – mastering (at West West Side Music)