Twin Shadow (Gate)

Twin Shadow, the fifth album under George Lewis's musical moniker of Twin Shadow, brims with joy. These ten songs are imbued with the same energy and curiosity that compels someone to first pick up an instrument and noodle around, not because they harbor aspirations to write a hit but rather for the thrill of hearing-and feeling-what's capable of happening when a string is plucked or a hand brushes over a snare. (It's no wonder that Lewis employs the first instrument he first played, the saxophone, to electrifying effect on this album.) Recorded both at FAMA Studios in the Dominican Republic and Los Angeles's Shady Acres, Twin Shadow's songs are distillations of beautiful memories and stories both real and imagined.