(Source/Shock)

Two acoustic-strumming Brits sing some new songs about stuff

Spearheaded by a titular Kings Of Convenience album, the “quiet is the new loud” sub-genre appears to maintain its niche nearly ten years after its critical heyday. London’s Turin Brakes – aka singer-songwriters Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian – may have reached their commercial apex with 2002’s Top 5 hit Pain Killer, but remain at the forefront of the “UK acoustic movement” as a new decade kicks off. A follow-up to 2007’s understated Dark On Fire, Outbursts similarly doesn’t claim to reinvent the bicycle, largely going by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” formula of heart-on-the-sleeve lyrical content and soothing, mostly acoustic-based arrangements. The album starts in a vibrant fashion with The Sea Change, one of the duo’s most propulsive and effortlessly catchy numbers to date, yet soon settles into the same delicate folk-pop many of us have an unintentional soft spot for. Just like before, Knights and Paridjanian’s alternately crooning and whiney vocals (folk music has always a whine-friendly genre) and lush acoustic guitars dominate the sonic landscape. Tracks like The Invitation, Apocolips (sic) and The Letting Down feature more complex harmonies and intricate chord progressions while Radio Silence even utilises – albeit briefly – distorted electric guitars, however the closing title track restores the lulling calm. A suitable Sunday morning listening, but don’t expect amazing revelations – Outbursts is a thoroughly down-to-earth fare.

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DENIS SEMCHENKO

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