In
the vanguard of the cumbersomely titled New Acoustic Movement,
Turin Brakes have successfully clung onto the
coat tails of sensitive enormadome fillers Coldplay and
David Gray. After 2001’s Mercury Music Prize nominated
debut album, ‘The Optimist’, the talented duo
have followed it up with an even better effort, ‘Ether
Song’, which hints that they may be on their way
to emulating their arena packing colleagues.
Ollie
Knights and Gale Paridjanian, who comprise the band, began
their musical career together
singing in the Balham
church choir, before specialising in writing heartbreaking
acoustic tunes. On the single ‘Average Man’,
which is lifted from ‘Ether Song’, the boys are
less concerned with resurrection and redemption and instead
focus on exposing a more prosaic reality: “Have another
drink my son / Enjoy another cigarette / Because it’s
time you realised / You’re just an average man.”
I don’t know what bonus tracks are offered, but the
achingly beautiful chorus of the title track is easily enough
to recommend it.
Gavin Eves
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