The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know: The Remixes

The Twilight Sad’s ‘No One Can Ever Know’, is not an album you would want to meet down a dark alley late at night. And more so, the remix album. After the Scottish band’s recent lurch towards the electronic side of things, it comes as no surprise they would entrust a host of remixers with the stems of the latest offering, but it could not have been predicted those remix buffs would have made it even darker than the original.

Remix albums are dangerous in that they might only be enjoyed for the residual elements of the original. But the majority of ‘No One Can Ever Know’ remixers make each track their own. The strongest efforts, like any remix, use enough of the original for it to be recognisable, preferably James Graham’s distinctive vocals, but even those that don’t, recreate a bleak musical landscape with zeal. The remix styles range from techno to freeform EDM, a sort of spooky two-step to more familiar dubstep and even the odd bit of 8-bit fun – some focusing on the band’s original synth or basslines, some on the vocals, some almost starting from scratch. Special mentions go to Liars’ remix of ‘Nil’ for its thumping monster aura, Tom Furse for his gloomy Scottish cottage of a remix on ‘Not Sleeping’ and Brokenchord for contributing two efforts. Though different in style and construction, they all succeed in doing in giving you the chills, in a whole new way.