Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
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Having started to make a name for himself with his 2007 debut album Sleep Is For The Week, Frank Turner returned in 2008 with his second album. It was an album that could have gone down two routes, either reinforce the sound the former Million Dead singer had already created or try something different. It's with great relieve that Turner decided to stick with the punk folk sound he had already started to pioneer in this country and the end result is this superb album Love, Ire and Song.
It would have been easy for Turner to return to his purely punk rock routes but with this album he started to bring his new blend of punk and folk more into the mainstream. It's clear from the start of the album that this was the album that Turner intended to make a name for himself with. There are a number of obvious singles and while his debut album was very good this one seems to take his musical and vocal abilities to the next stage.
While it wasn't perhaps the instant hit that Turner had been hoping for it is an album that really grew his fan base in great numbers. The album itself was recorded in a studio in Winchester where Turner and his guitarist Ben Lloyd split the production responsibilities between themselves. This followed the success that the pair had achieved with Turner's first album and once again the results are extraordinary. Having been so involved in the process from start to finish you get the feeling from the quality of the tracks that Turner strived to make each of the tracks as perfect as they could possibly be.
There is a real mixture of acoustic and electric guitars this time round and it advances and evolves the sound that Turner is trying to achieve. The acoustic guitar sounds much better on this album and compliments his vocals perfectly. This time round there is the addition of a drum backing on a number of tracks that keeps time perfectly and adds another dimension to the musical content of the album. Rather than completely reinvent his sound Turner has taken the ideas and method behind his debut album and refined it slightly and using the experience he gained from that first record to add to this one and make it even better.
Nowhere is that perhaps more evident than in the quality of the lyrics. He does write some very complicated tracks and when you actually listen to them word by word there are some very beautiful tracks on this album such as "Better Half". It's really Turner's vocals that give him the perfect combination between the punk and folk genres. While he creates the punk feel to the tracks through the use of drums and electric guitars it's through his vocals that he blends the two genre's particularly well. Coupled with his acoustic guitar Turner displays his ability as a singer/song writer very well on this album.
Once again Turner has drawn on incidents within his life to draw as influence for all of the tracks on the album. This gives the whole album a real sense of feeling and you can hear the personal elements in Turner's vocals which work particularly well. After the first album I wasn't sure how he could improve on it, but this album raises the bar once again. There are the more upbeat and faster tracks like "Imperfect Tense" and the slower heartfelt tracks such as the album's title track "Love, Ire & Song" which Turner describes as the three things everybody needs for contented life.
The album is packed full for great tracks, with the majority of them being songs I loved instantly. There are a couple of tracks that take a little longer to really get into your head but I quite often find myself singing along to the majority of the tracks on this album. It's hard to pick out a favourite track from the whole album but if I was forced to there is one in particular, "Long Live The Queen". The track was released by Turner as a single in support of Breast Cancer Campaign after one of his friends died due to the disease. The track is a beautiful and poignant song that not only keeps alive the memory of a friend of his but really displays the emotional and maturity of his ability to write songs.
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Nov 5th, 2009
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