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.
Mapped By What Surrounded Them
The Twilight Sad Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And these walls are filled with blame
And these walls
And these walls are filled with blame
And she's sitting in the primrose garden
And she's playing with her toys
Just another childlike ghost
And you've shot down
And you've shot down
And she's taken far too young
And these walls
And these walls are filled with blame
And these walls
And these walls are filled with blame
And she's cut herself with stained glass window
And she's playing with her toys
Just another childlike ghost
The trees and animals cry
And you've shot down
And you've shot down
And she's taken far too young
And in my dreams I watch
(And you've shot down)
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
(And you've shot down)
I watch Emily dance
(And she's taken far too young)
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
I watch Emily dance
And in my dreams I watch
(And you've shot down)
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
(And you've shot down)
I watch Emily dance
(And she's taken far too young)
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
I watch Emily dance
And in my dreams I watch
(And you've shot down)
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
(And you've shot down)
I watch Emily dance
(And she's taken far too young)
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
I watch Emily dance
The Twilight Sad's "Mapped By What Surrounded Them" is a haunting and emotional song that explores themes of trauma, loss, and grief. The repeated lyrics "And these walls are filled with blame" evoke a sense of suffocation and entrapment, suggesting that the singer is trapped in a cycle of self-blame and guilt for whatever tragedy has occurred. The line "And you've shot down" implies a violent event or perhaps a self-destructive act.
The second verse introduces the character of Emily, who is described as a "childlike ghost" playing in a garden with her toys. The juxtaposition of a childlike innocence with the haunting image of a ghost creates a sense of unease and sadness. Emily is then described as having "cut herself with stained glass window," implying self-harm, and the trees and animals cry in response. The final verse repeats the phrase "And in my dreams I watch Emily dance," emphasizing the sense of loss and longing for a past that can never be recovered.
Overall, "Mapped By What Surrounded Them" is a deeply emotive song that speaks to a sense of helplessness and despair in the face of trauma and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
And these walls
The walls are a symbol of something that surrounds and affects the singer.
And these walls are filled with blame
The singer is feeling guilty and thinks that blame is all around them.
And these walls
Repeating the first line to emphasize the impact of the walls on the singer.
And these walls are filled with blame
Repeating the second line to emphasize the overwhelming sense of accusation.
And she's sitting in the primrose garden
The artist imagines a girl in a peaceful setting.
And she's playing with her toys
The girl is enjoying a childlike activity.
Just another childlike ghost
The singer sees this girl as a ghost, either literally or metaphorically.
The trees and animals cry
The natural world is mourning for the girl.
And you've shot down
The artist is addressing someone who has caused harm.
And you've shot down
Repeating the previous line to emphasize the violence.
And she's taken far too young
The girl has died too soon.
And these walls
Repeating the first line to emphasize how trapped the artist feels.
And these walls are filled with blame
Repeating the second line to emphasize the overwhelming sense of culpability.
And these walls
Repeating the first line again to underscore how the walls are closing in.
And these walls are filled with blame
Repeating the second line again to emphasize how the blame seems to be everywhere.
And she's cut herself with stained glass window
The girl has harmed herself, perhaps by accident.
And she's playing with her toys
The girl is trying to distract herself from her pain.
Just another childlike ghost
Repeating this line to emphasize the girl's ghostly and childlike quality.
The trees and animals cry
Again, nature is mourning for the girl.
And you've shot down
Repeating the accusation for added emphasis.
And you've shot down
Repeating the accusation again for added emphasis.
And she's taken far too young
Repeating the tragedy of the young girl's death.
And in my dreams I watch
The singer is imagining something in their dream.
(And you've shot down)
Repeating the accusation yet again.
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
The singer is dreaming of watching Emily dance.
(And you've shot down)
Repeating the accusation for added emphasis.
I watch Emily dance
Repeating the previous line to emphasize the image of watching Emily dance.
(And she's taken far too young)
Repeating the tragedy of Emily's death.
And in my dreams I watch Emily dance
Repeating the dream image for added emphasis.
I watch Emily dance
Repeating the image again to emphasize the obsession with watching Emily dance in the dream.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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