Ether Song (Limited Edition)by Turin Brakes

This is album #2 from British folk-pop duo Tauin Braked. Turin Brakes have a very warm sound which in most parts is soft and soothing. They have a general formula to their songs were it starts off being folkey and laid back and gradually builds to a heavy burst before calming down again. The music is driven by a strong acoustic guitar with some interesting synthesized pieces in the background, the two seem to work well and create an organic feel. ‘Falling down’ is an interesting highlight which has a spacey atmosphere to it. ‘Full of stars’ is another standout which has a nice piano playing in the background. ‘Little brother’ is an interesting prog-rock sounding track with an amazing distorted guitar solo towards the end.

On the whole this is a very strong album with 12 solid tracks. If you like artists such as Radiohead, Coldplay or Beck then it is likely that you’ll find something to like about Turin Brakes. The one thing that holds this album back from being a fantastic release is their limit of originality to it. The music sounds a little to close to the likes of Coldplay and Radiohead while Olly Knights has a nasty habit of whining exactly like Thom Yorke does. The duo still has some work to do before they have their own definitive sound, when they find it though it will be something to listen out for. Overall a solid release with a lot of promise.