The band started up by playing a couple of gigs at the 13th Note in Glasgow, creating half hour-long pieces of music using guitars, bass, drums, theremin, tape loops from films and old folk/country songs, effects pedals, toy keyboards, thumb pianos, saws, computer games, and a lot of noise, in an attempt to try and discover a sound they could call their own and continue to develop. After these two shows, they rejected many gig offers, and became a more reclusive unit, spending any spare time they had in the studio focused on writing and sculpting away at new material.
In September 2005, they produced a 4-song demo with a 24-track desk, trying to get the best representation as possible, sent it over to Brighton-based Fat Cat Records. Alex Knight, co-founder of the label, went to Glasgow to watch the band perform their third gig and signed them on the spot. In November 2006, they made their first official release with The Twilight Sad, a US-only EP that helped bring attention to the band, as well as performances at CMJ '06 and SXSW '07 Festivals.
Their debut album, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, was recorded over a short period of three days and featured the first songs the band had ever created. It received good critical reception from the independent music media and turned the band into a reference point for the up-and-coming scottish indie scene at the time. Where the band’s recorded sound is layered with many melodies, their live sound is a more intense experience which replaces the intricacies of the recordings with a more visceral wall of sound, which is something the band intended to do all along.
In June 2008, they released the Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did EP, which included off-the-cuff reworkings of songs from the debut album, alongside the title track and a cover of Daniel Johnston, an artist they've cited as one of their main influences. The idea came about after the band played at London's Union Chapel, a venue with noise restrictions that forced them to perform with a more basic line-up of a fan organ, glockenspiel and percussion. During this time, the band recruited Martin "Dok" Docherty (formerly of Aereogramme) to play keyboards and additional guitar during the live shows. At the end of 2008, they released Killed My Parents and Hit the Road, a compilation to help fund their tour with fellow scots Mogwai. It consisted of live recordings, acoustic tracks, previously unreleased material, new demos and covers, which included The Smiths, Joy Division and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Their second album, Forget The Night Ahead, was released in September 2009. For the recording process, the band disposed of their effect pedals and experimented with natural reverb using early krautrock techniques, like mic'ing up inside the studio walls and rooms on the other side of the building to get the drum sound. During this time, original bassist Craig Orzel left the band to pursue other projects. He was replaced in the live setting by Johnny Docherty of Take a Worm for a Walk Week. A year later the band released The Wrong Car EP that featured two b-sides from the 'Forget' sessions as well as remixes by fellow Scottish acts Mogwai and Errors.
The release of their third album No One Can Ever Know saw the band pursue a change in style, virtually eliminating delayed guitars and relying on vintage analog synthesizers instead. The album was recorded in February/March 2011 at The Pool studios in London and featured production assistance by Andrew Weatherall.
Last January
The Twilight Sad Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and I stare at you
You don't care for me
Without the light,
I still glare at you,
look away from me.
it's taken you all night,
of feeling the same
with me
So don't die,
it's taken you all night,
of feeling the same.
You are too old to fare on your own
You are too old to fare on your own
And they say, it can't be won
when it's your eyes
touching my eyes
to the past we know
They say it can't be done,
and they say it's all just fun
it's your eyes
touching my eyes
You like what you find,
staring back at you
You don't care for me
So don't lie,
it's taken you all night,
of feeling the same
with me
And you know that I won't, know that I won't
You are too old to fare on your own
And they say, it can't be won
when it's your eyes
touching my eyes
to the past we know
They say it can't be done,
and they say it's all just fun
it's your eyes
touching my eyes
Won't you comfort me?
Comfort me?
And they say, it can't be won
when it's your eyes
touching my eyes
to the past we know
They say it can't be done,
and they say it's all just fun
it's your eyes
touching my eyes
This isn't you that I came here for,
This isn't you that I waited for(repeat)
The Twilight Sad's song "Last January" is a melancholic ballad about longing and unrequited love. The emotion-filled vocals of James Graham and the shoegaze sound of the music creates an atmosphere of bleakness and sadness. The lyrics are ambiguous and hard to decipher, but they reveal the internal dialogue of the singer who is hopelessly infatuated with someone who does not reciprocate the same feelings.
The opening lines, "I see you at night, and I stare at you, You don't care for me," establishes the theme of unrequited love. The singer keeps eyeing their object of affection, but the object does not acknowledge them. The singer pleads with them, "So don't lie, it's taken you all night, of feeling the same with me, So don't die, it's taken you all night, of feeling the same." The singer is holding onto the belief that their feelings are mutual, but the object of their affection does not feel the same.
The chorus, "And they say it can't be won when it's your eyes, touching my eyes, to the past we know, They say it can't be done, and they say it's all just fun, it's your eyes, touching my eyes," is a cry of despair from the singer. They are aware that their love cannot be reciprocated, but they cannot help the way they feel. The outro, "This isn't you that I came here for, this isn't you that I waited for," is a final admission from the singer that the object of their affection is not who they thought they were. The song ends with the singer looking for comfort from someone else.
Line by Line Meaning
I see you at night,
During the night, I catch a glimpse of you
and I stare at you
And I can't help but fixate on you
You don't care for me
But it seems that you have little affection for me
Without the light,
Even in darkness,
I still glare at you,
I continue to cast a steady gaze in your direction,
look away from me.
While you, on the other hand, avoid making eye contact with me.
So don't lie,
Don't deceive yourself,
it's taken you all night,
It's required all night,
of feeling the same
For you to feel the same as me
with me
In regards to me
So don't die,
Don't surrender,
You are too old to fare on your own
At your age, you're not capable of managing on your own
And they say, it can't be won
Others suggest that victory is unattainable
when it's your eyes
When it's as simple as exchanging glances,
touching my eyes
Meeting each other's gazes
to the past we know
Reminding us of what we've experienced before
They say it can't be done,
But those same individuals suggest it's impossible
and they say it's all just fun
And they only believe it's intended to be amusing,
it's your eyes
When it's as simple as exchanging glances,
touching my eyes
Meeting each other's gazes
You like what you find,
You enjoy what you discover,
staring back at you
When you see yourself reflected in me
Won't you comfort me?
Can't you offer me some solace?
This isn't you that I came here for,
You're not who I thought I'd find when I arrived here,
This isn't you that I waited for
You're not the person I've been anticipating
Contributed by Katherine N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@andrealukac9486
I see you at night and I stare at you
You don't care for me
Without the light, I still glare at you
Look away from me
So don't lie, it's taken you all night
Of feeling the same with me
So don't die, it's taken you all night
Of feeling the same
You are too old to fare on your own
You are too old to fare on your own
And they say, it can't be won
When it's your eyes touching my eyes to the past we know
They say, it can't be done and they say, it's all just fun
It's your eyes, touching my eyes
You like what you find, staring back at you
You don't care for me
So don't lie, it's taken you all night
Of feeling the same with me
And you know that I won't, know that I won't
You are too old to fare on your own
And they say, it can't be won
When it's your eyes touching my eyes to the past we know
They say, it can't be done and they say, it's all just fun
When it's your eyes touching my eyes
Won't you comfort me?
Comfort me?
And they say, it can't be won
When it's your eyes touching my eyes to the past we know
They say, it can't be done and they say, it's all just fun
When it's your eyes touching my eyes
This isn't you that I came here for
This isn't you that I waited for
This isn't you that I came here for
This isn't you that I waited for
@el-psy-congrooo
this isnt you that i came here for
this isnt you that i waited for
this isnt you that i came here for
this isnt you that i waited for
this isnt you that i came here for
this isnt you that i waited for
this isnt you that i came here for
this isnt you that i waited for
this isnt you that i came here for
this isnt you that i waited for
@marckristerson6185
This album is amazing, but it's so fricken sad, that I just can't listen it. It breaks my heart all over again, remembers so sharp about my failed love again. Some of these lyrics just hit the soft spot and hit it hard. This is art.
@ianbruce892
They are killing it... 🤩😎😍 on tour with The Cure!!💜🖤👀👁🎸🎸🎸🎹🤩
@etiennnelacroix4653
Saw them In Montreal a week ago before The Cure, didn't know them before - great performance, 30 min or so
@damirgazetic5884
Reminds me of her... That January I'll never forget... ❤
@KristinWheeler
Big fan now of The Twilight Sad after seeing them in Boston with The Cure!!
@71yair
☺☺☺ we will see them in Gothenburg and Denmark!
@dodovskji
Same for me here in Italy (Milan)
@mariabraz1109
hehehe I came here because today I'm seeing them with The Cure in Lisbon - Portugal :)
@suesutton9226
tHEY ARE MY 2 FAVOURITE BANDS : ))
@katemcginn5806
Cool as ❤️❤️