DiS favourites The Twilight Sad, who have just announced a special show for DiS, are reissuing their debut album 'Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters' for Record Store Day on 19th April 2014. The deluxe double vinyl edition will contain never-before-heard tracks, unseen original artwork and the remastered debut in full. The vinyl, limited to 500 copies in the UK, will be available from participating independent record shops on Record Store Day. We asked the band to walk us through the record...

Cold Days From The Birdhouse

James: “This was written not long before we went into the studio to record ‘Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters’. We didn't think it was going to make the record and were considering it as a B-Side before we headed into Chem19, which is terrifying thought as "Cold Days" is one of most popular songs and has been the song that’s introduced so many people to our music. I can't imagine it not being on the record. I think once Andy started playing that single piano note and we figured out the first half of the song it opened it all up and we knew we had something special on our hands.”

That Summer at Home I Had Become the invisible boy

James: “This is the first song I ever wrote. I remember Andy sent me the music and saying "get off yer arse and write something, I know you can". Up until that point I didn't know what to write about, then some pretty bad things happened to me, and people close to me, around the time Andy sent over the music for this song, so I got off my arse and wrote this. I don't think we've never not played this song at a gig since it was written. I think everyone who likes the band probably knows by now that the title is a line from one of our favourite films "Stand By Me".”

Walking For Two Hours

James: “I haven't ever told anyone what this song is about. No one. We have a lot of nicknames for out songs so that our setlist doesn't look like a chapter in a book and is easy to read. This song is called "80s" due to us practising in a local rehearsal room and a guy that worked there coming in and saying "that song sounds like an 80s power hit", he did mention what song it was but I'm not going to say, as it might ruin the song for some people. One of our good friends and favourite Scottish artists Adam Stafford covered this song as well which was really cool. This song also features the accordion playing the main hook, "You’re so far from old and you’re wearing", which we used quite a lot on this record. Everyone always asks, "where has the accordion gone?". Andy found the accordion in his attic and started to play around with it, unfortunately it is now broken. We do use a small fan organ now though.”

Last Year’s Rain Didn't Fall Quite So Hard

James: “We wanted to write a song with lots of looped vocals and I remember Andy coming round to my house and working on some melodies to loop. We don't usually write like that and I don't think we have ever written like that since. We usually work separately and then when we have a basis of a song we get together and work on the structure. I remember I was listening to "Sung Tungs" by Animal Collective a lot around that time and I liked the way they looped and repeated vocal lines so it was something I really wanted to try out. It’s a strange wee song but has a lot of character I think. I think it adds something a bit different to the record and helps it flow.”

Talking with Fireworks

James: “Otherwise known as "Loud/Quiet" which pretty much explains the structure of the song. I play the cymbal when we play this song live. I think it’s as far as my musical ability reaches as far as playing an instrument goes and there has been times on tour where I've felt like playing it with my head. I think this song might have scared a few audience members away when we play it live as I get the impression people are thinking: "What the fuck is going on here?!!!". It's pretty full on at the start and then it goes into this waltz about putting a knife in someone's chest.”

Mapped By What Surrounded Them

James: “All my lyrics are very personal and from day one I've always said that I won't tell anyone what they are about and it's up to the listener to make up their own mind on how they interpret them. It also allows the listener to be able to relate to the lyrics (if they can understand them through my accent) to things that have happened in their own life. I think I saw someone online in a review or a feature about the band guess correctly what it was about. Either that or I told them when I was pished in a pub one night. We played this song at Paisley Abbey recently and in that venue and the atmosphere the song made so much sense, lyrically it’s a pretty tough song to sing at the best of times due to the subject matter but in that venue it hit me pretty hard. If anyone wants to know what my lyrics are about get me pished and I'll tell you. I remember when Andy finished the demo for this song he burned it onto a CDR, I picked him up at his house in my Vauxhall Corsa and we drove around listening to it really loud, we must have looked a couple of EMO N.E.D.S as we drove past people.”

And She Would Darken The Memory

James: “We have never not played this song in any form of the live set since it was written. It was on our second batch of demo's that we sent down to Fatcat Records. I often get asked if I hate rabbits and, more specifically, "Why must the Rabbit die?". I'd like to say on the record that I have nothing against rabbits, I like the rabbit from the Cadburys Caramel Advert, Jessica Rabbit is a total ride and Frank from Donnie Darko seems a bit weird but I'd have a pint with him. This is another song in which the now deceased accordion played a big part. The wheeze and flow of that instrument really adds to how the song progresses and leads into the noisy section at the end.”

Andy : “This was the first song we wrote after FatCat initially got in touch with us. It was one that just came together so quickly and easily that I've never been able to remember writing it”

I'm Taking the Train Home

Andy: “The end of this song has a noise section that I've seen smash the bottles and glasses at the bar, blow the power out in venues and hospitalise some of the crowd. It was never the intention to try and do any of that, it just sounded right.”

Fourteen Autumns Fifteen Winters

Andy: “I would listen to a lot of Serge Gainsbourg when we were writing this record and chord changes he would use. It had a big influence on the music, particularly this song. I've never had a piano or been able to play it, which is why it sounds like a drunken, out of time mess.”

James: “This is possibly my favourite song as I'm not on it.”

Fourteen Autumns Fifteen Winters will be reissued for Record Store Day on 19 April 2014.

The Twilight Sad will be performing ‘the album in full at the following live shows:

29 April - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
30 April - Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London (Sold Out)
1 May - Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London (Sold Out)
2 May - The Deaf Institute, Manchester
3 May - Exchange, Bristol
30 May - Primavera Sound, Barcelona

Plus this new date, announced today for Drowned in Sound:

Poster by Sean Thomas.