Disco de Turin Brakes: “Optimist LP [Bonus Disc]”

I have a habit of rabbiting on about music but I'm gonna make an exception here and keep this short and sweet for you guys out there. Basically, The Optimist LP is a stunning debut by a young british duo who really have hit the mark with this album. You can take your Coldplays and your Doves and do with them what you will. Although the aforementioned bands are good at what they do, Turin Brakes are simply great. From the stark opening piano of Feeling Oblivion to the closing bleak tenderness of The Optimist, not a song passes that doesn't leave you with some sense of emotion, be it sadness, warmth, or simple pleasure. The overall production sound on this album is full and glorious, utilising the exceptional talents of both these fine musicians to the utmost. Ollie Knights has been blessed with a voice that can seem searingly honest, tender, passionate, and downright cheeky. His partner in crime, Gale Paridjanian is clearly a talented guitarist who seems to slide effortlessly between...well...slide guitar, simple rhythmic strumming, and scorching solos. Favourite moment? About two minutes fifty into 'The Road' at the bridge when Ollie sings "In the darkness, lets them see all of the people they never knew, and the doorway, falling through puddles and places I've never been" OK so the lyrics aren't Bob Dylan, but check out the singing and harmonies in this song...unbelievable. So I rabbited on...whatcha gonna do...buy this album.

Turin Brakes is flagged as the next thing in the British invasion on the heels of Travis, Coldplay and the like. Turin Brakes is the duo of Olly Knights (vocals/gtrs) and Gale Paridjanian (gtrs), sprouting accoustic gtr-based songs telling tales on the walk of life.

"The Optimist LP" is an encouraging debut, with ups and downs. The sound is primarily an intimate one, with just accoustic guitars for the most part, and Olly's quivering vocals, occasionally embellished with drums and bass. The songs evolve around themes of not knowing where to belong ("Feeling Oblivion", the lead off track on the CD... with a great mandolin supplementing the accoustic gtrs; also "Starship" with lyrics like "Given the chance I would leave this place on a rocketship to Mars"), job stress ("Underdog (Save Me) which is also the 2nd single, making dents in the UK charts), and lost love ("State of Things", the 3rd single of the album).

On a couple of occasions, the songs reminded me of things heard before. Best example is "The Door", the 1st single of the album, with its blatant use of the riff found in the 1965 song of Dave Berry's "Strange Effect" (anyone remember that one?), but also in "Future Boy" (reminding me of George Michael's "Praying for Time") and "Emergency 72 (reminding me of America's "Horse with No Name").

The CD is best summed up in its last song, the title track: "The Optimist" track is very much like many tracks: musically it has accoustic gtrs starting, then joined eventually by some drums and bass, and lyrically it talks about "I'm Planning The Greatest of Escapes... Soon I'm Gonna Stand Up... yeah, I'm Gonna Rear Up and There's No Escape"

Electric gtrs show up for the first time in "Slack" (track 8), one of the better tunes, as well as in the "hidden" bonus track, which pops up some 2 min. after "The Optimist" ends, an instrumental which is really intruiging.

Overall, this is an interesting debut. No Coldplay-like quality in my opinion, but I'm sure looking forward to future releases of Turin Brakes.

Turin Brakes ostensibly stick to the so-called N.M.A (new acoustic movement) canon. But unlikely other likeminded bands who tend to be slightly sophorifical (think about Kings of convenience for instance), TB throw something else in the mix resulting in a more uptempo and rocky version of the above mentioned band. I've recently read in a review that TB are to Kings of convenience as It's Jo and danny are to Belle & Sebastian. This might help you classify the band... All in all, while not being revolutionary, the record is definitely enjoyable and quite probably a must-have if you like British indie pop.

The Optimist is one of those cds that has the power to get under your skin, change your heart and wake you up to things going on in your life. I can't really put into words how wonderful this album is, but I promise after listening to their powerful harmonies, mind-blowing guitar and amazing lyrics, you'll tell everyone you know about these guys.

Some people compare this duo to Coldplay and other current bands, but I'd suggest their unique sound is more closely linked to the past. With strong harmonies reminiscent of Marc Bolan or even the Everly Bros., they are also capable of evoking the idiosyncratic vocal styles of David Surkamp (of Pavlov's Dog) and Jeff Buckley. Lyrically powerful and musically restrained, this album is a breath of fresh air, and is probably the best of the "new acoustica" movement (exemplified by bands such as Kings of Convenience and Starsailor). A generous swag of richly melodic, mainly acoustic songs is polished off with a very strange and compelling instrumental that sounds like Vini Reilly and the Durutti Column on mescalin. So forget any misleading Coldplay parallels - these gentlemen will never cause you 'Trouble' by sounding like Pink Floyd.