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Turin Brakes - Ether Song It’s seemed like an age has passed waiting for the ‘difficult’ second album from this (mostly) acoustic duo. The courageous ‘the optimist lp’ remains one of the most vital debuts of recent years. Although only released in 2001, somehow it feels like light years away. Back then, the Turin Brakes were the next big thing. The NME aptly described them as “brutally emotive”. This, therefore, must be it. The arrival. It is with deep regret then that I have to inform you- you’re going to have to wait a little longer.
I’ll admit it. I put Ether Song on hoping to receive a musical slap to the face. I wanted to be able to sing along like before. More choruses with only numbers in, more eccentric lyrics like the unwieldy “I’m in a parked car, flowers seem friendly and people in hallways feel walls”. Boringly, all I really wanted was more of the same. What you get on Ether Song is definitely more. Unfortunately it’s mostly more production. More layers of sound over the fragile equilibrium of what sound like they could actually be great songs. It’s like there was a mist in the recording studio that accidentally got committed to tape. Bearing in mind how the twin harmonies of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian have the power to ring clear as a bell, this complication seems all the more unnecessary.
The horrible truth is revealed on the customary ‘special edition’, with a second cd and short documentary video. Firstly, this is (and it almost hurts to type it) a concept album. Shudder. The ‘ether’ in the title is apparently a magical mist circling the earth, harbouring the creative energy of human beings. Evidently, they researched this whilst doubling as supply teachers for a GCSE ‘Expressive Arts’ course.
Secondly, the Brakes have decided to get themselves a producer - Tony Hoffer (who has worked with Air and Supergrass amongst others). This isn’t worrying until you hear their throwaway admission that once upon a time the idea of using a producer seemed like a joke to them, that “that’s when we’ve lost, is when we’ve got a producer.” After a few listens to the album, this really smarts. You can’t help wondering if their initial fears were justified. Worst of all is that the video is inter-cut with some clearly brilliant live acoustic performances of the new material, without any of the fog which seems to coat the album proper.
I realize this all sounds pretty negative, but this is not the diagnosis per se. ‘Ether Song’ was always going to possess some divine moments, like the bittersweet lilt of the chorus on ‘Average Man’, the discord and resolve on ‘Full of Stars’ and the naked shimmer of ‘Rain City’. ‘Long Distance’ is Turin Brakes at their soaring gritty best. There are better songs here than most ‘next big things’ could ever hope to write.
It will grow on you too, once you are ready to accept that this is a much more subtle experience all round. It’s just that as an album it doesn’t balance somehow and feels like too much of an experiment. Stranger still when you consider the ‘ether’ concept of a collective creative energy uniting everything, though admittedly this hasn’t always helped George Lucas either.
The final nail in the coffin is the appearance of a ‘secret track’ at the end of the album, but not for the reasons you might think. After a gap of four minutes, a song kicks in which is far more powerful than anything else on the album. Can you imagine it? Hidden on the album! A slow-building progressive goose-bump inducing joy! It captures the magical concept of the eponymous ‘ether’ in one fell swoop and transcends all the indulgent subterfuge before it. It is so good it has added at least one point to the total score. If you don’t buy the album, seek out this track at the very least.
The Turin Brakes just need a little more time. There is another great album in there somewhere, and ‘Ether Song’ proves it, albeit in a roundabout kind of way. In the meantime, do go see them live if you get the chance. You won’t be disappointed.
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