CD of The Week

Having successfully found his footing in the '80s new romanticism of his 2010 debut Forget, George Lewis, Jr. uses it to kick Twin Shadow into the next level of indie dance/rock/whatever stardom with his follow-up, Confess. Inspired by Lewis's brush with mortality in a motorcycle crash, this album finds him rocking and raving with the exact kind of devil-may-care bravado you'd expect from someone who learned all the right lessons from cheating death. Like its title suggests, Confess holds nothing back in terms of who Lewis is as an artist, or who he wants to be. From the Peter Gabriel pomp of "Golden Light" to the "Boys of Summer" rush of single "Five Seconds" to the M83 radiance of "Beg for the Night," Lewis succeeds at becoming the Reagan-era bad boy that he aspired and paid homage to on Forget. His lyrics are unapologetic chronicles of stealing, winning, and ultimately breaking every heart he sets his sights on. The music matches his predatory personae, with more assertive guitars and propulsive percussion than anything the band has produced before. The combination is seductive enough that even after Lewis spends and entire album selling you on his heartbreaker persona, his closing come-on of "Be Mine Tonight" will still feel like the warmest invitation possible. As will Confess as a whole.

Catch Twin Shadow back in Philly at Union Transferon September 25th.