Album Review: GLA by Twin Atlantic

Like Biffy Clyro before them, Scottish rockers Twin Atlantic have had to be patient in their pursuit of mainstream success. Despite the Glaswegian four-piece attracting the attention of their peers at an early stage of their career – including support slots for Biffy, The Smashing Pumpkins and Blink 182 – their debut mini album, 2009’s Vivarium, and second effort, 2011‘s Free, did not see them gain any significant widespread recognition. That finally changed with their third album, Great Divide, which was released in 2014 and charted at number six in the UK Album Chart.

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Following up Great Divide, their broadest and most successful album to date, was always going to be a difficult task for Twin Atlantic. On GLA they take a step back towards their rebellious punk roots while sprinkling in some of the hook writing acumen that they picked up on the last go around. Working with veteran producer Jacknife Lee (Two Door Cinema Club, Snow Patrol, Weezer), the Scottish foursome built a record that is enjoyable for the same reasons as its predecessor, but without anything as radio-targeted as "Heart and Soul".

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Battered and brutalised, Twin Atlantic’s intrinsic pop nous gains depth and credibility on ‘Overthinking’, ‘Missing Link’, ‘The Chaser’ and highlight ‘Ex El’ – Arcade Fire suspiciously circling a McFly chorus, basically – and a pop epic like ‘Whispers’ becomes a brooding masterpiece that makes Biffy’s ‘Mountains’ look like Peter Gabriel’s ‘Solsbury Hill’. Next week: James Bay turns out to be the new Grimes. .

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