After their 2009 mini-album 'Vivarium' garnered praise from both indie and punk outlets all over the Internet, Twin Atlantic knew they had to deliver the goods on their debut album. Well folks, we're happy to tell you that the Scottish quartet did not let us down. 'Free' is packed with pop-crusted guitar hooks and anthemic choruses around ever corner. Released back in May, 'Free' was produced by none other than Gil Norton, the man also behind superb albums by the Foo Fighters and Jimmy Eat World. Already magazine cover stars in Europe, Twin Atlantic will be back for a tour of the States in January. Vocalist Sam McTrusty took time out to be the latest musician in Noisecreep's ongoing 'Five Albums That Changed My Life' series.

'Born to Run,' Bruce Springsteen (1975)


"When I was growing up, I used to go for long drives on a Sunday with my dad through the Scottish highlands and countryside. It was the one day a week I used to spend with him so I embraced whatever we did together. He used to play this record on repeat. It was the first songs I ever learned the words to. I think the memories attached to the music have led it to be my favorite and most inspiring record in terms of song writing and dynamic."

'Take Off Your Pants and Jacket,' Blink-182 (2001)


"This album sums up my teenage adolescence. The first time I heard this I would have been about 14. It gave me a sense of freedom. I think I connected to the idea of music being a lifestyle. Every song talks about regular things but with a sort of exuberant and rebellious undertone that got me excited. I think this record gave me a defined feeling of where I belonged amongst my peers at high school. I wasn't exactly the "a student" and I attended a fairly strict school. Whenever I listened to these songs at that time it lifted that weight off of my shoulders because they were mostly about having a good time and not taking life too seriously."

'Transatlanticism,' Death Cab for Cutie (2003)


"I started listening to this band when I first moved out of mum's tenement flat in the south side of Glasgow where life exists as a daily grind. I moved to a flat in the west end where most students and "arty" humans resided. I eventually grew tired of them all but at first it was so refreshing to experience a different way of life than I had known for 17 or 18 years. This album made it all click together and became the looping soundtrack for that period of my life. I can mark it as a real defining album that made me want to peruse my songwriting more seriously and give being in a band a real shot. Songs like "new year" and "we looked like giants", destroyed me on a first listen. The imagery conjured up by Ben Gibbard's lyrics married with the instrumentation made my imagination race at a different speed than before."

'Nevermind,' Nirvana (1991)


"This is the old cliché rock fan favorite but I can't lie, man. It changed my life when I heard this. The weird thing is I watched the video tape of 'Tonight, Live, Sold Out' before I heard any music. I got lost in the enigma of Cobain. I became obsessed with his life and songs. I have no idea how many times I've listened to this album and I find it hard to pin point what it is exactly that defines it as a big influence. I think a lot of it has to do with its simplicity, its honesty and the vocal performance from Kurt. You just believe every word he says. Even if it's a crazy nonsensical lyric, he makes me believe in him. That is a quality that I find inspiring."

'At Action Park,' Shellac (1994)


"This record inspired me sonically more than anything else. The guitar tone used by Steve Albini is so abrasive and ballsy. It's something I always reference in a recording studio with a producer or engineer. I love the rhythms too and how angular the songs can be while maintaining groove. I first heard it when I started at Glasgow School of Art and had to get a bar job to pay my rent. The bar manager played it one morning before we opened up on a Sunday and my brain exploded onto the limes I was slicing."

Catch Twin Atlantic out on tour with The Swellers and You Me at Six:

Jan 24th – Cleveland OH, Grog Shop

Jan 25th – Chicago IL, Beat Kitchen

Jan 26th – Pontiac MI, Pike Room

Jan 27th – Toronto ON, Sneaky Dee's

Jan 28th – Pittsburgh PA, Smiling Moose

Jan 29th – New York NY, Studio

Jan 30th – Worcester MA, Palladium

Jan 31st – Philadelphia PA, Barbary

Feb 1st – Baltimore MD, Ottobar

Feb 2nd – Charlotte NC, The Casbah

Feb 3rd – Atlanta GA, Masquerade

Feb 4th – Orlando FL, The Social

Feb 6th – Houston TX, Warehouse

Feb 7th – San Antonio TX, White Rabbit

Feb 8th – Dallas TX, The Door

Feb 10th – Mesa AZ, The Nile

Feb 11th – San Diego CA, Soma

Feb 12th – Anaheim CA, Chain Reaction

Feb 14th – Los Angeles CA, Troubadour

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