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Turin BrakesJackInABox Source/EMI Turin Brakes are flirting with disaster on 'JackInABox'. Live last year Olly Knights and Gail Paridjanian demonstrated their delicate stylings could hold up given a more robust edge, and seemed intent on capturing that in the studio. So the first surprise is that 'JackInABox' is so sonically crafted. It sounds sublime. But where a raw edge would work wonders, we get a polished effort that lacks impact. Red Moon is a funkier Turin Brakes, a buzzing electric guitar propelling the chorus after acoustic-based verses. Following in a similar vein is Asleep With The Fireflies, which features the gloriously typical Turin Brakes lyric "Me and my girl are gonna make it if we try". On paper it looks twee, but as both voices rise together it becomes something altogether more special and intoxicating. Road To Nowhere is a companion piece of sorts to Average Man from the last record, sung from the son's point of view. However, the likes of Last Clown and Above The Clouds threaten to derail the album: both are by-the-numbers strum-alongs. Still, 'JackInABox' is not an easily dismissible record. Turin Brakes write songs to get lost in. There's a beauty in virtually everything they've done, an elegance to their writing and the delivery of their music that marks them apart. Over two albums they've hinted there's greatness to come. Third albums have a habit of showcasing a band in control of their sound and their destiny: 'OK Computer' and 'Master Of Puppets' spring instantly to mind. 'JackInABox', disappointingly, isn't that record. But tantalisingly - frustratingly - it offers even more glimpses to suggest the defining Turin Brakes album isn't far off.  |
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