Album: Beacon (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • The closing title-track of the second studio album by Northern Irish indie rock band Two Door Cinema Club reveals a deeply reflective hue: "It's a summation of everything that's happened to me in the past couple of years," explained frontman Alex Trimble to NME. "That's the song where I've been most open, ever. But generally it's quite a positive record, it's not really about missing people at all."
  • Bassist Kevin Baird told Spin magazine: "The narrative of the album is about our struggle with the relative amount of success we had, and being away and loving that completely but also having to make sacrifices in our personal lives."
  • The Two Door Cinema Club trio have known each other since school and most of their road crew has worked with them for a long time. The close bond they have has helped them to deal with life on the road. Said Trimble to The Sun: "The song Beacon is about a beacon in the distance, calling you. It was a thought that resonated through the whole album, which is about growing comfortable with life on the road. Learning to get used to how things change. We live a great life and life is amazing but the grass is always greener. It's not complaining — I don't moan about it — but sometimes you do find it tough.

    And, for me, writing it down helped me make sense of it. It can be a terribly lonely existence being in a band. We're lucky to be among friends. There's always someone to talk to if you want to be with someone."
  • The Beacon album cover caused controversy for depicting a near-naked woman hanging from a ceiling. Two Door Cinema Club admitted to The Daily Star they were horrified at the offence caused by their artwork and explained that they were paying homage to French photographer Guy Bourdin. Singer Alex Trimble said: "Guy's photographs were an inspiration to us when making the album, and it never occurred to us that our tribute would cause any offence. The sleeve is meant to be sexy, not sexist."

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