[Etherish] Thoughts on TB10 and where Turin Brakes might go next

So this past month, Turin Brakes have been in Konk Studios recording the 10th Turin Brakes album. I thought this could be a good moment to write some thoughts down… So here they are.

As I wrote in the news post before, Turin Brakes have sometimes claimed they are a ten-album-band. Although honestly these claims date back from a few album cycles ago – when the 10th Turin Brakes album felt like something very far into the future. During the first decade of their career, Turin Brakes release an album every 2 years (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007). 2009 was an exception – with the Bottled at Source compilation being released instead. In 2010 with Outbursts, after the band averaged a new album every three years (2013, 2015, 2018, 2022). This average pace during the Cooking Vinyl years nicely puts the projected next release year on 2025. I’ll take it. It gives me a year to give some love to this site and fix all the broken bits – in time for the new album cycle.

And I do think and hope we’re in for something special. Like I said, it’s album 10! And I do think it’s significant that the band went back to Konk Studios after recording almost all of The Optimist LP there in 2001. After using Rockfield Studios for the three albums We Were Here, Lost Property and Invisible Storm, the band recorded Wide-Eyed Nowhere at Olly’s home studio. Most of this was probably out of necessity – there was a pandemic after all. Turin Brakes always seem to be reacting to their last album in some way or another, and this time the reaction was: let’s go to the studio where it all began over 23-25 years ago.

Musically, however, I’m very curious where they are going with this. Little is known about the direction of the album (although I spied lyrics for a song called ‘Lullaby’ in an Instagram reel), but my mind has been wondering where the TB bus will take us next. The social posts featured lots of guitars and percussion sessions, but also some weirder moments. When I was younger, I thought I knew where I wanted Turin Brakes to go – write some (radio) hits, grow the audience and get the recognition they deserve. But by now, I realise that I was mostly naive. And also, if I look back on the last 15 years, I mostly dig the musical journeys the band took us on. Yes, I really love some of the singles – Lost In The Woods is one of my absolute favourite songs these days, Keep Me Around is a great tune that did very well on BBC Radio 2, but I mostly keep returning to the musical journeys the band took us on.  

To some extend, Wide-Eyed Nowhere appeared to be full of them. Songs like Into the Sun have a lot of the classic folk rock vibe I’m into these days. My only complaint would be that some of these journeys are on the short side and I would have loved for these songs to get even more room to breathe. Think what a 7 minute version of The Ride with an instrumental jam session would sound like? 

Wide-Eyed Nowhere was the first Turin Brakes album without any song that lasted 5 minutes or longer. All Turin Brakes albums had at least one song that lasted over 5 minutes. Into The Sun and World Like That are the only album that almost reaches 5 minutes length (4:45 and 4:41 respectively). I know that if TB made these songs longer, there probably would have been one song less on the album to make it fit nicely on an LP. But we’re not talking practicality here, just musical dreams :). After all, we all know how Turin Brakes gigs get once they get into the jamming side of things. I’m open to the argument that the Wide-Eyed Nowhere album is nice and tight, with its collection of 11 songs. And maybe if we only got 10 songs, I’d probably be complaining about that.

Anyway, so yea, I’m hoping for some musical journeys on the next album. We’ll have to wait and see and what we’re gonna get. The band knows best and they’ll give us what they want to express as artists. The world has changed so much over the past five years and with most of Wide-Eyed Nowhere written before the pandemic, I’m very curious what the new material is about thematically and what it sounds like musically. Perhaps we’ll get a taster during the acoustic tour later this year. I’m not sure yet what gig I’ll be able to attend (if any), October and November are shaping up to be very busy, so I’m glad I had a chance to see the band support Sheryl Crow and Crowded House at Blenheim Palace, Oxford. Anyway, hopefully things will work out and I’ll be able to come the UK for another show. 

Finally, I hope Turin Brakes will start saying they’re a 20-album-band now. 🙂