It's the Long Goodbye＜限定生産盤＞

前作はUKトップ20ヒットを記録し、地元スコットランドでは1位を獲得。ザ・トワイライト・サッドがアンディ・セイヴァーズ(マイ・ブラッディ・ヴァレンタイン、ブラック・カントリー・ニュー・ロード)と共にレコーディングした7年ぶり、自身6枚目のアルバム『イッツ・ザ・ロング・グッドバイ』、リリース。
●ゲスト:ロバート・スミス(ザ・キュアー)

スコットランドの人気バンド、THE TWILIGHT SADが待望の6作目となるアルバム『IT'S THE LONG GOODBYE』を2026年3月27日にRock Actions Recordsよりリリースする。絶賛された前作『IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME』(2019年)に続く本作は、傷ついた人間性を描くバンドのポートレートがオーディエンスとの深い絆を築いてきた彼らにとって、これまでで最も個人的でありながら共感を得やすい作品となっている。『IT'S THE LONG GOODBYE』は、悲嘆や喪失、精神疾患といったテーマを扱い、心と情熱に満ちたアルバムだ。James Grahamの独特で生々しく情熱的な歌声と、Andy MacFarlaneの雄大なギターがリスナーを深く引き込む。伝説的アーティストであり、自らをTHE TWILIGHT SADのファンと公言するRobert Smithがゲスト参加。ウィレスデンのBattery StudiosにてAndy Savours(My Bloody Valentine、Black Country New Road)と共にレコーディングされ、Chris Coady(Yeah Yeah Yeahs、Slowdive、TV On The Radio、Future Islands)がミキシングを担当した。

Maybe its a good thing the Twilight Sad were already well-versed in expressing grief, desperation, and the occasional flicker of hope before they released Its the Long Goodbye. The existential brooding of albums like It Wont Be Like This All the Time prepared them -- as much as anyone can be prepared -- for the painfully specific circumstances of their sixth full-length. For years, singer/songwriter James Grahams mother suffered from frontotemporal dementia until her death in 2024, a struggle that felt even crueler as he started a family of his own. Together with guitarist Andy MacFarlane, he does an outstanding job of transforming this devastation into one of the Twilight Sads finest albums. "Get Away from It All" plunges into the extended nightmare of dementia and the suffering of everyone caught in its wake. When Graham asks, "whyre you slowly leaving me?" and insists "youre my mother" over and over as the guitars and pianos reach a fever pitch, it comes as close to capturing the magnitude of this frustration and grief as music can. Its such a powerful opening statement that the rest of Its the Long Goodbye could pale by comparison, but the Twilight Sad hold nothing back. Song titles play like touchstones of the grieving process: Furious and bleak, "Waiting for the Phone Call" is one of many times Graham is unflinching about his own wish to die (shortly before recording the album, he left a tour with the Cure to treat his mental health). "The Ceiling Underground" sets inescapable thoughts to a circling melody ("Why does it feel like nothing is real?/My head is filled with more things to miss"), while "Chestwound to the Chest" echoes the physical sensation of life-altering grief with shoegaze tremolos that threaten to buckle at any moment. For those who have experienced this loss, Its the Long Goodbye might even feel telepathic. On "Back to Fourteen," Graham and MacFarlane capture how the loss of a parent can throw someone back into childlike need with uncanny accuracy. While Its the Long Goodbyes lyrics eloquently express powerless grief, the music brims with searing purpose. The Twilight Sads thundering attack fills in any emotional gaps on songs such as "Designed to Lose" and "Attempt a Crash Landing - Theme," where keyboards pierce the wall of distortion like starlight. On the albums commanding centerpiece "Dead Flowers," the keys were played by longtime friend Robert Smith, whose presence underscores that sharing feelings is vital to bearing unbearable loss. Moments like this and the aching high note Graham hits as he tells his mother its OK to leave on "TV People Still Throwing TVs at People" demand listeners sit with emotions many would rather avoid -- but thats exactly what the Twilight Sad does so well. Its the Long Goodbye is a fiercely beautiful tribute to a life and the love left behind. Like Mount Eerie’s A Crow Looked at Me, it tells the entire story of loss with exceptional honesty. ~ Heather Phares