GROWING UP, FEELING EVERYTHING AND BEING SCOTTISH: TWIN ATLANTIC SHARE NEW ALBUM 'SEPARATION FROM THE ANIMALS' |

ALBUM REVIEW | TWIN ATLANTIC – SEPARATION FROM THE ANIMALS by Charlotte Cairnie

There’s something really special about Scottish music. Maybe it’s the accents, maybe it’s the storytelling, or maybe it’s just that Scottish artists have a brilliant way of making music feel completely honest. From the first few seconds of Twin Atlantic’s eighth album, Separation From The Animals, you get exactly that feeling.

Released on October 2nd, the 12-track album feels like a new chapter for the Glasgow band, while still sounding unmistakably like Twin Atlantic. After nearly two decades of making music together, there’s a confidence here that comes from knowing exactly who you are, but also being completely unafraid to show a softer side.

The album opens with ‘Your, The End’, immediately setting the emotional tone for what’s to come. This isn’t an album that is afraid of big feelings. Love, heartbreak, family, friendship, growing up, and figuring out who you are all sit at the heart of the record, but it never feels like you’re being forced to feel something. Instead, there’s something really natural about the emotion running through these songs.

And then, of course, there are the moments where Twin Atlantic remind you exactly why they have been such a huge name in Scottish rock for so long. ‘Don’t Quit It’ brings that big, energetic side of the band back to life, while ‘In Your Eyes’ gives us one of those huge emotional choruses that feels made for screaming along to at a gig. The album manages to jump between softer, more vulnerable moments and proper rock tracks without ever feeling confused about what it wants to be.

Twin Atlantic – Separation From The Animals

One of my favourite things about Separation From The Animals is how comfortable it feels. There’s no obvious attempt to recreate an old Twin Atlantic record or chase what might have worked fifteen years ago. Instead, the band sounds like they are allowing themselves to make the music they actually want to make now. ‘The Risk Of Love Is Always Loss’ and ‘Lost’ are particularly lovely examples of that more reflective side, while ‘Confidant’ brings a much rougher, grungier energy into the mix.

There’s also something really refreshing about hearing a Scottish band embrace where they come from. Scottish artists have always had this brilliant ability to make music that feels both huge and incredibly personal, and Twin Atlantic are a perfect example. Sam McTrusty’s voice and accent are such an important part of the band’s identity, and rather than trying to smooth that away, it makes the songs feel more real. There’s something about hearing a Scottish voice singing about complicated, very human emotions that makes the whole thing hit slightly differently.

The album feels like a reflection on getting older. Twin Atlantic have been around for almost twenty years, and Separation From The Animals sounds like a band who have reached a point where they don’t feel the need to hide behind anything anymore. McTrusty has spoken about looking back at his life and finally being able to confront some of the things that shaped him, and that honesty really comes through in the songwriting. By the time you reach ‘Feel It All’, the closing track, the album has taken you through so many different emotions that the title feels pretty fitting. There’s sadness, hope, nostalgia, love, and a lot of reflection, but ultimately the record feels positive. It feels like accepting that growing up is messy, relationships are complicated, and sometimes looking backwards is the only way to understand where you are now.

Separation From The Animals is a reminder that after all these years, Twin Atlantic still have plenty to say. It’s emotional without being overly dramatic, nostalgic without living in the past and, most importantly, it sounds like a band who are genuinely enjoying discovering what comes next.

Scotland’s music scene has given us some incredible artists, and Twin Atlantic deserves to be firmly included in that conversation. Separation From The Animals proves that you can grow, change, and soften without losing what made people fall in love with you in the first place.

Separation From The Animals by Twin Atlantic is out now via Dance To The Radio. Listen now, or pick up your copy here.