George Lewis, Jr. is a bracing new voice in pop music — and one that sounds surprisingly familiar.
Better known as the ’80s-indebted dance-pop crooner , 29-year-old Lewis strikes a singular figure on stage and in the press with his confident, world-weary persona and razor-sharp style, which draws from ’50s motorcycle gangs as much as hipster fashion plates in Brooklyn and London.
But itap his albums — 2010’s critically-acclaimed “Forget” and this year’s “Confess” — and his rapturously-received festival appearances that have truly announced his arrival. Chilly, jittery synths and muted guitars worthy of Psychedelic Furs rub against a surfeit of carnal, sugar-smacked melodies on “Confess,” Lewis’ first album for storied British indie label .
The influences are easy to spot and endless in their overlap — Peter Gabriel, Morrissey, Tears for Fears, George Michael, even a bit of Springsteen. But Lewis’ music fits neatly next to the work of contemporaries such as M83 and Beach House, artists who paint in broad and melancholy strokes to evoke moods over narratives.
We caught up with Lewis via phone recently in advance of his headlining set at the on Friday Sept. 7.
You released your first record, “Forget,” on Grizzly Bear member Chris Taylor’s Terrible Records, but 4AD is a whole other level. Do you feel any increased pressure, given all the great artists they’ve had on that roster over the years?
I think itap a good home for the music. I mean, I wouldn’t compare myself to anyone on the label now — I’d never compare myself to any band in general — but of course I was a fan of the Birthday Party, the Breeders, Cocteau Twins, all that. I think itap a good place because of the people who run the show and the freedom they give you.
How did the 4AD deal come about?
They came to see us play an early show and I think Chris Taylor had sent the record over to them, and itap hard to say exactly how it happened. The gin and tonics were poured and all of a sudden I was signed to 4AD. They did the last record in Europe so I kind of felt their presence on that record as well. Itap all very like boring, practical things that they bring that help you do your business. There’s a lot more advertising for this record. That’s the biggest thing I guess. All the other tiny little things are things that I’m slightly unaware of and that my manager takes care of.
But in this day and age you can either have a label who does all the heavy lifting and the really practical things that you don’t want to deal with, or you can hire a team of people to do that for you. Itap kind of like either-or. But there’s all kinds of things working underneath the surface, people trying to get songs to radio and license them. And most importantly they just kind of support putting out your records without sticking their nose in too much. I have friends on major labels and I think generally the labels are starting to be aware that it’s pretty hip to just leave your artist alone. Until they’re like, “Where’s the hit?” Then you’re forced to write the hit, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you are. So yeah, I am enjoying the support that 4AD gives me and the freedom they give, for sure.
You wrote, performed and produced the entire album yourself. You get complete control but also have to take complete responsibility for it, for better or worse. Is that intimidating considering the critical love you’ve gotten the past couple years?
I really kind of thrive on that (control aspect). Thatap everything to me, in a way. I want to be ultimately responsible for the music. I couldn’t really live with myself if my successes and failures belonged to anyone else. So I don’t know, I may continue to just do it that way. I’m not sure though. Maybe I can let go in the future but for now I really like doing that.
Do you have a favorite song on the new record? Especially now that you’ve been playing it live every night?
“Golden Light” has been starting to come together live, which is kind of awesome because I thought that would be a hard song to get off the ground. But itap really coming together and sounding very right.
You’ve played in a lot of different types of bands over your career, from punk to covers groups, but Twin Shadow has a very specific persona and sound. Do you see yourself as part of any particular scene?
I feel like Twin Shadow’s really set apart from a lot of other music. I always feel like this lonely child out there. (laughs) Man… that sounds bad, doesn’t it? That’s going to make me sound terrible. But I don’t find a lot of kinship with many other bands. I’d like to, but I don’t, and part of that is because it is very kind of hermit-like process.
Some critics have said the “character” in your songs seems like a pretty selfish person, as opposed to a wholesale extension of yourself. Is that a conscious thing when you’re writing lyrics, channeling this sort of lothario persona?
No, I’m just channeling it as a part of myself. All my songs are about me or other people I’m in relationships with. Itap all a part of me. I don’t like making up fictitious characters in my songs. I used to do that when I was younger songwriter and now itap just about me. I might be talking about the worst part of myself, which is maybe not me all the time, but I think everyone has these parts of themselves and a lot of times the part flying underneath is the part you take the most interest in — and which leads to the most discovery.
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You’ve traveled to and worked and lived in a relatively large and diverse amount a places in your life, being born in the Dominican Republic before going to Florida, Boston, Berlin, New York, etc. It’s something that a lot of people don’t get to do. What kind of perspective do you think thatap given you?
I used to think that maybe gave me an edge on my music, but now… I mean, certainly it’s shaped me. Itap my life. But I’m starting to think that even if I had like remained solely in New York the last four years I would have been writing something similar, because it’s not about the places I’ve been but the people I’ve interacted with. Itap hard to say. Of course, when I went to Europe for the first time I was kind of re-exposed to electronic music. When I grew up in Florida all my friends started listening to electronic music at the same time. Everyone was into drum and bass and everyone went to raves. I was a kid who really liked rock ‘n’ roll and R&B but because all my friends were into electronic music I had to go to the raves with them. So I was exposed then but wasn’t interested.
And then when I went to Europe I really finally understood it all. I was like, “Ah, I don’t want to go see a band play. I want to go see a DJ and dance my ass off.” And all of a sudden that made sense to me, and after that experience I went back to New York and started Twin Shadow and put these electronic elements in my music and mixed it with things I loved. So it certainly has heavily shaped my music in a way, but I couldn’t say whether not traveling was the biggest part of that.
I read in a recent Pitchfork interview that you partied pretty hard on your last tour, to the point where you woke up in the hospital a couple of times. Are you doing anything differently this time around?
Well, I’m just kind of eating goji berries and… I’m just kidding. I’m just trying to relax more, trying to maybe read more, trying not to go out as much. I haven’t really been partying at all this tour. I don’t know, I don’t even have anything to say on the subject because I read that interview and I kind of hated the way that it sounded very like a hair metal band guy that went to the edges of his limits and then saw God and thatap now how I wanted to come off.
Itap just like, we’re human beings. We party. We have a good time. Thatap what we do. I’m not going to change anything about myself. I didn’t see God. Not yet. But my main mission is to play these shows and play my heart out, and I want to be able to make every show and make sure my voice is OK for every show and take those steps to make sure that I’m there and I’m at my best. So if I have to make some adjustments here and there, I will.
You’re really into motorcycles and your videos and interviews tend to reflect that. But I wouldn’t think of you as a part of stereotypical American motorcycle culture, with giant dudes with beer guts and all that. Are you part of a culture of riders in New York or anywhere else?
I’m kind of… and I say this too about actually riding all the time, but I much prefer riding on my own. I’d like to have my own little motorcycle gang of guys to hang out with, have a pool table, you know, have parties every weekend, whatever. But I very much feel kind of alone in it and itap a thing that I do alone because it helps me a lot and helps me get away from everything else. So I’m like, you know, I’m kind of the lone biker I guess. I hate to say that, don’t even print that! They’ll have a field day with that comment. But I’m saying it in the most sincere way. I just like riding alone. Biker culture is interesting. I like reading about the Hell’s Angels and watching movies about it, but those weren’t good people. Some of them were, of course, but I’m not into being like this… I don’t want to create like a terrorist group of biker maniacs who rape and pillage. Thatap not my thing. And I’m certainly not a British biker from the ’50s. Thatap not my thing, either.
It’s very much just: you get on this thing that has two wheels and it goes really fast and itap very dangerous and you feel very connected to the world when you’re doing it. And thatap all it is. I’ll write about it for fun, you know, but itap a very basic thing that holds as little weight or as much weight as I need it to at whatever moment I need it.
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John Wenzel is an A&E reporter and blogs editor for The Denver Post and the author of (Speck Press/Fulcrum). Follow him and .
