Music
20 Mar 01

The Optimist LP

Their languorous, minor key songs and stripped-to-the-bones arrangements have seen them dubbed the torchbearers of "slo-fi" across the water. But London duo Olly Knight and Gale Paradganian have also won praise for their uncompromising adherence to the dark soul of their material.

Inevitable comparisons with Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake aren't far off the mark but Turin Brakes add a spacey, widescreen feel to songs such as the wondrous 'Future Boy' and the Pink Floydian, 'The 'Door'.

What they lack in a rhythm section on most of these songs, they more than make up for with the use of off-kilter twanging textures and organic sound effects. And you can bet that Mercury Rev and Calexico also occupy a prominent place in their record collection.

That said, the inclusion of drums and bass (recalling Neil Young's Harvest era band) on the brilliant, 'Emergency 72' invites favourable comparisons with outfits like Coldplay and Starsailor.

The sonic tension the pair manage to create within these songs is at times astonishing and eerily vivid, as on the title track, a true urban folk-song for the new millennium, and 'The Road' which builds from a straight acoustic strum into a swirling, harmony-laden tour de force.

Melancholy stuff to be sure but with a deft, subversive edge.