Heart-aching songs that ooze atmosphere
Chris Broom
Last summer, not fancying the sounds of Sam Fender as my Sunday night closer at Victorious, I opted to go and see Turin Brakes, who were headlining the acoustic stage, instead.
It was not a choice I regretted. As a result I was keen to catch them again when they wereduetocometoTheWedge last December.
Sadly, illness in the band meant it was postponed and the rescheduled date was eventuallytackedrightontheendof thetourfortheirmostrecentrelease, Wide-Eyed Nowhere.
That album is well represented in the set, including opener Isolation, which sets out their stall. Frontman Olly Knights’ keening, distinctive voicewringstheemotionoutof everylastnote,whileGaleParidjanian plays the understated guitar hero. Meanwhile, fantastically hirsute bassist Eddie Myerappearstohavewondered in from a metal band, cutting a gleefulfigureasheposesfooton monitor.
Once lumped in with the early noughties ‘new acoustic movement’, the four-piece left that tag behind long ago – there may indeed still be acousticled, quieter numbers in the set, but their sound is on the whole much more electric, in every sense, than that moniker allowed.
And it may be coronation day, but it is only referenced in oblique passing here. When Knights is having a good-natured exchange with a fan being ‘down with the kids’, the fan shootsback:‘I’mnotPrinceAndrew!’ to which Knights replies amidlaughter:‘Iamnotevengoing to go near that...’
The main set closes with Black Rabbit, its hushed opening section is heavy on the atmospherics before exploding into an ecstatic guitar wig-out. While this would have been a fine place to leave things, there areacoupleoftheirbest-known tracksstilltoplay.Ofcoursethey come back for an encore.
Underdog (Save Me) has the sold-out room singing along. It is beautiful, but after an additional three songs they’re still not done – they come back for two more, a sublime Feeling Oblivion and the rolling groove of Slack finally brings things to a close.
While bothering the upper-reaches of the charts may be behind them, Turin Brakes still clearly have a devoted following, and with such stunning, heart-aching songs at their disposal, long may it keep them going.