George William Lewis Jr. (born March 30, 1983), better known by his stage name Twin Shadow, is a Dominican-born American musician, producer, and actor. He has released six studio albums to date: Forget (2010), Confess (2012), Eclipse (2015), Caer (2018), Twin Shadow (2021), and "Georgie" (2025).
Lewis was born March 30, 1983[4] in the Dominican Republic and raised in Florida. His first exposure to music was singing in his church choir.[citation needed]
Around 2000, he moved to Boston and started the band Mad Man Films alongside Joseph Ciampini (drums) (of Hooray for Earth) and Zak Longo (bass) of Before Lazers. Mad Man Films released two records independently. In 2006, not satisfied with recording music for theatre and films, Lewis moved to Brooklyn, New York, and started the Twin Shadow project.[1]
Forget received critical acclaim, appearing on numerous "album of the year" lists, including Pitchfork (#26)[6] and Stereogum (#32).[7][8] It has been described as "steeped in 1980s new wave",[2] "building from streaks of haunting synth textures",[9] having "sophisticated melodies", "R&B intimacy", and "poetic lyrics",[10] and "hazily new wave-tinged pop".[11] Twin Shadow was Rolling Stone's Band of the Week on October 7, 2010.[12]
Confess (2012–2013)
Twin Shadow at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, August 5, 2012
On July 10, 2012, Lewis released his follow-up album, Confess, which he produced himself.[13] He gained inspiration for the album after being involved in a motorcycle accident in Boston.[13] Two of the album's songs, "Five Seconds" and "Patient", were transformed into a music video saga that drew inspiration from Lewis's 2012 novel, The Night of the Silver Sun.[14]The A.V. Club described the record as "filled with Morrissey-esque yelps and Human League-worthy choruses, [...] Twin Shadow manages to digest his influences rather than simply replicate them. Confess retains the humid fog that saturated Forget, but the instrumentation is brighter, louder, and sharper. Synthesizers punch through the atmosphere, and Lewis' exquisite croon floats above it all."[15]
Confess debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 54, and on the Top Rock Albums chart at No. 18. It had sold 30,000 copies in the US as of March 2015.[16]
Eclipse and Night Rally (2014–2016)
After criticising his own work for being too elitist,[17] Lewis set out to create a more approachable album, which he named Eclipse.[18] It was his first with a major record label, Warner Music. Carl Wilson of Billboard magazine noted that Twin Shadow had left behind much of his "foggy layers of synths and drum machines", reminiscent of the likes of Depeche Mode and Simple Minds, in favor of a more contemporary sound.[17]
Eclipse is also noted for being a near-complete departure from guitar-playing, a conscious decision by Lewis, according to a Pitchfork interview in January 2015.[19]
The track "To the Top" was featured in the trailer for the film Paper Towns.[20]
On April 17, 2015, Twin Shadow and his band and crew were involved in a tour bus crash.[21] The driver, John Crawford, and drummer Andy Bauer were hospitalized and in serious condition. Lewis underwent reconstructive hand surgery following the accident.[22]
On July 28, 2015, Twin Shadow released the Night Rally mixtape for free online, in conjunction with the announcement of tour by the same name.[23] Due to Bauer's severe injuries from the April bus crash, the band retooled the songs in the live set, with samples and a drum machine to keep time. Twin Shadow toured the United States and Canada and opened a portion of Death Cab for Cutie's US tour.[24]
Night Rally consists of recordings from 2010 to 2014. During his convalescence in Los Angeles following the bus crash, Lewis began to look through old hard drives. He left a message under the mixtape on SoundCloud, expressing how his discovery gave him a glimpse into the past five years:
The more I dug, the more I realized how much music was made in the last 5 years. Being home, I had the time and perspective to enjoy all the little impulses, embarrassing choices, and exciting moments that I couldn't bottle. There were also some songs that I couldn't understand why I never finished".[25]
Caer, "Hollow Days", Broken Horses (2018)
Twin Shadow released his fourth studio album, Caer, on April 27, 2018, which was his final album with Warner Bros. On October 26, 2018, he launched his own label, Cheree Cheree, with the release of the single "Hollow Days", which incorporates the bachata sounds of his birthplace, the Dominican Republic. An EP titled Broken Horses was issued on December 26, 2018.[26]
Twin Shadow (2021)
Twin Shadow released his fifth, self-titled studio album on July 9, 2021, on his own label, Cheree Cheree. According to a press release quoted by Paste magazine, the record "represents Lewis' biggest sonic shift to date and finds the artist reexamining the cherished sounds of the golden era of soul and punk that were part of his musical upbringing and embracing his Dominican heritage, recording portions of the album at FAMA Studios in the Dominican Republic".[27]
Writing
In 2012, Lewis published a novel titled The Night of the Silver Sun.[28]
Fashion
Fashion is a notable interest for Lewis, as chronicled by The New York Times, who stated that he is "giving Kanye West a run for his money as the music world's leading fashion dilettante".[29] Twin Shadow was a featured musician in Levi's "Live in Levi's" ad campaign.[30] Since 2010, he has served as a muse and composer for Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osbourne, the designers of the CFDA-award-winning fashion line "Public School".[31] In 2015, Twin Shadow composed the music for their spring/summer 2015 and spring/summer 2016 runway shows, which took place during New York Fashion Week. In addition to composing music for Public School, Lewis has modeled for the clothing brand, both on and off the runway.[32]
In 2013, Lewis appeared as a fictional version of himself in the video game Grand Theft Auto V as a DJ for the in-game radio station Radio Mirror Park.[51] His songs "Shooting Holes", "Forget", and "Old Love / New Love", a track he made specifically for the video game, were featured on the station.[52][53]
He made his feature film debut in the 2018 science fiction action Western film Future World.
↑ Drever, Ryan (November 18, 2010). "Twin Shadow – Forget". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
↑ Leas, Ryan (January 27, 2015). "Q&A: Twin Shadow on Eclipse, Signing to Warner Bros., & Indie Vs. Pop". Stereogum. Retrieved March 19, 2015. I know that that can appeal to what people call an 'indie audience.' Or right now, making something that's minimal and R&B would be appealing to an indie audience. I understand those games very well. But I try not to make music in the shadow of that knowledge, you know? My ambition is to get as many people to hear my music as possible. If that makes me 'pop,' then that makes me pop.
↑ Cohen, Ian (January 8, 2015). "Twin Shadow". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
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