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Ether Song
03/10/2003 5:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Ken Micallef
Ever since Coldplay upended the Radiohead formula by casting isolation and despair as playful bedfellows with sweet tones and yawning rhythms, numerous British bands have sought to cash in on the introspection sweepstakes. The duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian put up a good fight with rousing campfire guitars and ornery vocals aimed at delivering intimate revelations ("Have another drink my son and enjoy another cigarette"), but Turin Brakes' rowdy acoustic jams only manage a lukewarm hint at pastoral freedom, like the world's least aware pub band playing to an empty house at teatime. "Long Distance" and "Self Help" create an inviting languor, but as the duo's whiny vocals intertwine, comparisons to Sammy Davis Jr. (or Sammy Hagar) reciting an acoustic "Candyman" or Axl Rose covering Bob Seger are hard to avoid. "Stone Thrown" is uncomfortably similar to Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," and "Full Of Stars," though laced with lovely hymnal falsettos, is Eagles-lite. The despoiled climax is the Bowie-esque "Panic Attack," which matches speak 'n' spell vocals and faux glam rock with themes of claustrophobia and castration.
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