Turin Brakes

Ether Song (Source/Astralwerks)
by Tim Den

Turin Brakes‘ debut, The Optimist, had its heart in the right place but lacked the seductive songwriting that’s essential to good folksy electronica. On Ether Songs, however, the duo has taken a cue from Beth Orton and really found the melodies within their breathy, lathargic catharsis. Borrowing Dog Man Star‘s sexy high tenor and putting it atop a new pechant for Sergie Geinsburg instrumentation, Ether Songs sounds like the soundtrack from your favorite retro European film. Golden brown like a Paris sunset, just gleaming with youthful lust and fatigue from having spent the whole day backpackin’ it.
(104 West. 29th St. New York, NY 10001)