The band’s first album disappointed but my hopes were lifted when I saw the band perform live at the Witnness Festival in Dublin. The songs from the album came alive with the band’s obvious passion and skill. With Coldplay still thriving on the back of one great pop song, this band is their equal but needs the songs to really break through. This I feel is a better album and illustrates more accurately the true nature of the band. It still lacks the ‘instant hitmaker’ but there’s a consistency in pace and mood which I’m attracted to.

The opener, Blue Hour, possesses a strong melody and paints a picture of the band performing as I remember them. The dark ambience, lovely vocal choruses and pleading, strong lead vocal combine to produce a very good song. Average Man is more upbeat, lighter in mood and pleasant enough. The darkness returns with Long Distance, a song that gently wanders along before building crescendo and falling back again. Keyboard notes are prevalent and add drama to the proceedings. Another very good song.

And so to one of my favourite tracks, Self Help, with its traces of country, strong melody and whispered vocals. For me, this song signals the start of a much stronger second half of the album. Songs like the mellow, ghostly Falling Down, acoustic rock Pain Killer and stuttered passage of Panic Attack illustrate the band’s ability to come up with distinctive material. The album closes on the country-tinged rock beauty Little Brother and hushed, gentle lullaby tones of Rain City.

Turin Brakes is a band of high quality and this is an album that should win over many doubters. Whether it’s good enough to launch the band into the stratosphere is another question. However, ETHER SONG bestowes the band with a distinctive sound that can be built on. The songwriting and performance skills are there, perhaps the ‘killer song’ isn’t, not yet anyway. Recommended.

3.5/5