TWIN ATLANTIC blasted back onto the scene last month with their latest album GLA, boasting the commitment, intensity and swagger of a band who look and sound like they are ready to conquer everything they touch. Achieving another top ten chart success, the record has been widely recognised as showcasing some of the band’s most accomplished work to date, so it is no surprise that they have chosen one of its highlights ‘Ex El’ as their latest single.
Starting with the unfamiliar sound of pulsing synths, sweeping atmospherics introduce the track before Sam McTrusty’s distinguishe voice makes itself known. Sounding particularly raw with emotion on this occasion, he bursts with passion as his vocals are pushed to the limit over driving rhythms and a stirring guitar line. The jagged verses sandwich the kind of heartfelt, stadium-ready chorus that wouldn’t sound out of place on previous album Great Divide; it is primed for a massive singalong and to be belted out on the biggest of stages. A powerful bridge follows during which McTrusty’s delivery evolves into an intense screech as he repeats the phrase ‘I can’t change’; a desperate plea at the start of the song which becomes a voice of defiance by the end.
It is one of the most heartfelt and passionate offerings from Twin Atlantic; indicating the more expansive sounds to the new record while maintaining that anthemic quality that has made them so popular in recent years.
Discussing the deeply personal aspect of the track, McTrusty has said: “It is about some personal pain that I’ve suppressed for my whole life, that I have tried to deal with through art for the past 10 years… music, film, art whatever it is. In the studio when I sang these notes and screamed, something happened. This song and these lyrics made it all go away. It’s a song about finding empowerment. Ownership. It’s the first song where I finally used my true voice, the inner me, the real me.”
Having already finished their UK tour, Twin Atlantic will head out to Europe for a string of dates throughout November. They will then return to Glasgow where they will end their busy year on a high with three dates at the legendary Barrowlands from 13th-15th December.
