Turin Brakes – JackInABox

I loved the debut albums by this folky duo but was left disappointed by the second offering and lost interest. I’ve had this, their third album, for ages but never gave it a listen until I decided to give it a spin on my MP3 player last night at the gym. It opens with a sunny upbeat track that sets the scene for the rest of the album – simple guitar and drum tracks with nice melodies and vocal harmonies. After the more ambitious ‘Ether Songs’, which ended up being atmospheric but ultimately boring in my opinion, this is closer to the basics of their debut and works well for it. The strings and keyboards that litter the album are subdued and don’t overtake the rest of the sound. My only complaint is that the album is quite long and could have done with being ten minutes shorter but despite that it’s worth getting hold of particularly if you liked the first album. 7/10