Gary Steel
Here’s a great example of the sort of album that was always bound to get lost in the rush. Although Forget somewhat peters out towards the end, and ultimately fails to live up to its early promise, it’s still a quiet “grower” from 2010 that too few will ever hear or know about.
George Lewis Jr. is an old-fashioned musical auteur, fashioning almost every aspect of this intriguing release in an “overdubbed in my bedroom” process that combines any combination of electronics and “real” instruments that serves his moody songs.
Twin Shadow is not the Cocteau Twins – that formative 4AD act – but Forget does have something intangible about it that reminds me of that group. Lewis, however, seems to be infatuated with his own personalised notion of glam-cum-New Romantic, and he writes songs that aren’t afraid to get “funky” in a cauterised ‘80s style, and even goes down Duran Duran’s well-traveled road on more than one occasion.
Its biggest problem is that Forget lacks enough outside stimulus to stop it from sounding introverted, and to give it some variety, as well as flow and momentum. It’s very much “here’s a track, here’s another, here’s another”, and while the songs are good enough to keep tedium at bay, the album cries out for some external contributions.
Still, Lewis is one to watch, the songs do get better with every spin, and it’s a pity that Forget is probably destined to be, well, forgotten. GARY STEEL
Sound = 3/5
Music = 3.5/5
