Lost Property represents Turin Brakes’ 9th album, if you include a couple of live albums, their 3rd on Cooking Vinyl and their first since 2013’s We Were Here.
It’s easy to forget the band have been knocking around since 1999, releasing magnificent debut album The Optimist LP in 2001, and also scoring a top 5 hit with Painkiller.
The new album starts with the trademark and familiar acoustic guitar strumming, before the rest of the band pad out the fabulous opener 96. I had to check I hadn’t put The Optimist on by mistake...
Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian of course are the mainstays of the band, ably assisted by longterm bandmates Ron Allum and Eddie Myer, and throughout their career although attempts have been made to change their sound from album to album, they have never really shaken off the reputation of being a founder member of the new acoustic movement. And good for them.
This is a beautiful, lush and gorgeously produced album that seems to transcend time and place. To hell with trends and gimmicks, the Turin Brakes do what they do, and they do it fantastically well.
Orchestration makes an appearance on soaring ballad Save You, emphasising the fact that “Time will save you, you don’t need to save yourself”
Martini is a little acoustic ditty, played on a couple of guitars, whilst Jump Start has a more epic feel to it with Knights’ crystal clear, almost choirboy vocals which remain unchanged from their debut.
Epic 6 1/2 minute closer to the album is Black Rabbit, which has a dreamy, almost Floyd like sound, screaming guitar solos and all. Fabulous way to end a fabulous album.
This album has been on rotation since I got it, and even prompted me to listen back to the Brake’s best of compilation Bottled at Source. I would suggest that any track from Lost Property would easily sit alongside the songs on that album.
9/11
Keith
Order from Turin Brakes website
