Whilst on tour with Errors in October 2010, vocalist James Graham stated that "the next [album] is not going to be anything like the first two. [...]
The wall of sound is kinda gone.
Andy [MacFarlane]'s demos involve a lot of keyboards, and it's a lot more considered."
Additional musician Martin "Dok" Doherty also stated that "the band who make the same record over and over don't have a very long career."
The band returned to the studio in January 2011.
In April 2011, the band released a free acoustic EP on their official blog.
The release featured stripped-back renditions of tracks from both Forget the Night Ahead and The Wrong Car.

The Twilight Sad's third album, No One Can Ever Know, was released on 6 February 2012.
Andy MacFarlane describes the album's sound as "sparser... with a colder, slightly militant feel," and the band received some production assistance from producer Andrew Weatherall, who helped in their experimenting with analog synthesizers.
The band released a new song, the album's closing track "Kill It in the Morning", for free on their new website and SoundCloud page on 21 September 2011.
The first proper single from the album, "Sick", was made available as a 7" vinyl single and digital download on 14 November 2011.
Second single "Another Bed" followed the album's release on 20 February 2012.

In August 2012, the band announced that touring keyboardist Martin "Dok" Doherty would no longer be performing with the band, stating "[An] end of an era as our next two gigs will be Dok's last with the band.
One of our best friends and one of the most talented people we know! [...]
Been a pleasure and a privilege to share the stage, be on the road [and] have many a drunken night in foreign lands over the past five years with you, Dok."
Later that month, Doherty's replacement was revealed to be Brendan Smith, previously of the bands Julia Thirteen and The Unwinding Hours.
Regarding the band's line-up changes over the past six years, James Graham noted, "The good thing about the line up changes is that we all remain friends with each other and when someone has left it's been for a good reason and the right choice for them.
We've lucked out with Johnny [Docherty] and Brendan who are maniacs in the best possible way, but they are also brilliant musicians as were Dok and Craig [Orzel] and they all put the likes of me to shame."
Doherty left the band to further pursue his electropop project Chvrches with former Aereogramme guitarist Iain Cook and singer Lauren Mayberry.

Along with nationwide tours of the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as European festivals during the summer and a headlining gig at Barrowland Ballroom in December, the band released a collection of remixes entitled No One Can Ever Know: The Remixes in November 2012.
In December 2013, The Twilight Sad and The Skinny released a free digital download single and video of the band performing "The Wrong Car" with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, recorded live at Paisley Abbey in October 2013.
Whilst on tour with Errors in October 2010, vocalist James Graham stated that "the next [album] is not going to be anything like the first two. [...] The wall of sound is kinda gone. Andy [MacFarlane]'s demos involve a lot of keyboards, and it's a lot more considered." Additional musician Martin "Dok" Doherty also stated that "the band who make the same record over and over don't have a very long career." The band returned to the studio in January 2011. In April 2011, the band released a free acoustic EP on their official blog. The release featured stripped-back renditions of tracks from both Forget the Night Ahead and The Wrong Car.
The Twilight Sad's third album, No One Can Ever Know, was released on 6 February 2012. Andy MacFarlane describes the album's sound as "sparser... with a colder, slightly militant feel," and the band received some production assistance from producer Andrew Weatherall, who helped in their experimenting with analog synthesizers. The band released a new song, the album's closing track "Kill It in the Morning", for free on their new website and SoundCloud page on 21 September 2011. The first proper single from the album, "Sick", was made available as a 7" vinyl single and digital download on 14 November 2011. Second single "Another Bed" followed the album's release on 20 February 2012.
In August 2012, the band announced that touring keyboardist Martin "Dok" Doherty would no longer be performing with the band, stating "[An] end of an era as our next two gigs will be Dok's last with the band. One of our best friends and one of the most talented people we know! [...] Been a pleasure and a privilege to share the stage, be on the road [and] have many a drunken night in foreign lands over the past five years with you, Dok." Later that month, Doherty's replacement was revealed to be Brendan Smith, previously of the bands Julia Thirteen and The Unwinding Hours. Regarding the band's line-up changes over the past six years, James Graham noted, "The good thing about the line up changes is that we all remain friends with each other and when someone has left it's been for a good reason and the right choice for them. We've lucked out with Johnny [Docherty] and Brendan who are maniacs in the best possible way, but they are also brilliant musicians as were Dok and Craig [Orzel] and they all put the likes of me to shame." Doherty left the band to further pursue his electropop project Chvrches with former Aereogramme guitarist Iain Cook and singer Lauren Mayberry.
Along with nationwide tours of the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as European festivals during the summer and a headlining gig at Barrowland Ballroom in December, the band released a collection of remixes entitled No One Can Ever Know: The Remixes in November 2012. In December 2013, The Twilight Sad and The Skinny released a free digital download single and video of the band performing "The Wrong Car" with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, recorded live at Paisley Abbey in October 2013.
The Twilight Sad