Turin Brakes Album: “Dark on Fire”

Somehow, the recognition that is lavished on many Britpop bands seems to slip right on by Turin Brakes.

That's a shame, because their fourth album "The Dark on Fire" is a return to form, after the peppier sound of "Jackinabox." The British band maintains the folky-rocky acoustic core and bittersweetly spacey flavour of their past work, but they also experiment with a fuller, more expansive sound. Not too shabby.

It opens with a swell of shoegazy synth, which is joined by a gentle acoustic guitar. "This is the last chance/The last chance to heed the call... Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning/I'm drowning inside the ground," Olly Knights sings dramatically as the piano tumbles over the ringing riffs.

As the song fades out with an ominous piano note and the admonition, "Don't ask too many questions," Turin Brakes switches over into the retro psychrocker "Ghosts." Most of the songs that follow hang somewhere in between -- gentle folkrock humming with shimmering keyboard, dusty bittersweet acoustic ballads laced with strings, a deliciously catchy chunk of sprightly powerpop, and a few angular rockers traced with organ.

And it finishes on a rather upbeat, pretty note, with a trio of folk and pop melodies -- the sunny acoustic-led "Bye Pod," the twinkly delicate "Here Comes The Moon," and the unadorned "New Star." That last one is pure folk, with no moments of rock or spaciness.

"Dark on Fire" doesn't really explore any new territory for Turin Brakes, in favor of polishing what they've done before -- it's a combination of all three of their past albums, combining spacey folk with driving indie-rock. And with that in mind, Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian do a pretty excellent job combining all three styles into one album.

But they do have more of a lush, full-blown sound in this album, as if there were more band members than just, well, two. Lots of ringing, angular electric guitars driving the melodies, and sometimes softer acoustic ones just meandering along. And there's lots of spacey, shimmering shoegazer-style synth, often wobbling behind the harder instrumentation. And a gentle cascade of piano ripples through some of these songs like a brook.

Knights has a somewhat constricted voice, but he makes it work in the more countryish, wistful songs ("He's a tragic little fellow/cause he's always left behind"). There's a feeling of unease that runs through the album, ranging from a deranged stalker's ode ("Every single thing you say/I'll record, I'll replay") to fleeing a place you don't like ("The last chance to leave this place/Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning").

The one exception? It ends on a rather chipper note, with Knights warbling rather off-key over an acoustic guitar, "Just wait for the blue sky/Wait for the sunshine/To clear your mind... Even that old moon/It couldn't eclipse this brand new sun!"

"Dark on Fire" is a solid combination of all Turin Brakes has done before, blending spacey folk with Britpop. Definitely one to clear your mind with.