A Free Man

“Yeah I am sick and tired of people who are living on the B-list
Yeah they’re waiting to be famous, and they’re wondering why they do this
And I know I’m not the one who it habitually optimistic
But I’m the one who’s got the microphone here…”

-Frank Turner - “I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous”

A Free Man has spent far too much time in school to really be a useful member of society, beyond as a contestant on a trivia game show. But it has made me a sucker for literary allusions in my music. So, if the title of your first track pays homage to T.S. Elliot, you’re going to get my attention. You’re not going to keep it unless you play great music. Frank Turner’s sophomore LP has got a lot more going for it than just fun for former English majors.

Turner’s debut, “Sleep Is For The Week” was one of the best British records of 2007. It was inspired 21st century folk music in a punk rock context. It got him some critical acclaim but little commercial success. Turner is back with his critical sophomore effort just over a year after the first and he does not disappoint with “Love, Ire & Song” (Xtra Mile).

The Turner that I was enchanted by is still there, but he’s brought in a new dimension, one that he showed glimpses of on the debut. The music has a richer, fuller sound and the production value is markedly improved. Tracks like “Reasons Not To Be an Idiot” are a rounder, with more rock and commercial appeal. A track like “Photosynthesis”, with it’s sing-along lyrics, may have enough radio friendliness to catapult Turner onto some radio playlists. The soaring “to Take You Home” has the potential to be the English song of the summer if enough people here it and Turner gets on to the festival circuit. Only once does he take things too far in this vein - the only real dog on the record, “Imperfect Tense”, a bland track that is indistinguishable from the standard Radio 1 Kaiser Monkey fare.

But what makes Turner special is his songwriting. He is at his best when it’s just him and an acoustic guitar and his wonderfully constructed songs, and there is enough of these tracks on this album to remind us why Turner is worth paying attention to in the first place. Tracks like the opening Elliot homage “I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous”, the title track and “St. Christopher is Coming Home” are vintage Turner. These songs are reminiscent of early Dylan or Billy Bragg at his best. They’re cleverly penned, but not flippant. They espouse anarchy, but don’t preach shrill revolution. The most important thing is that there is always an optimistic underpinning, take these lines from the title track as an example:

“Oh but once we were young, and we were crass enough to care
But I guess you live and learn, we won’t make that mistake again, no
Oh but surely just for one day, we could fight and we could win
And if only for a little while, we could insist on the impossible…”

The verdict on “Love, Ire & Song” - it’s not perfect, Turner is still finding his voice and his sound. Things are a little uneven across the dozen tracks on the record but “Love, Ire & Song” represents growth his debut - a spectacular record. Turner is an artist on the rise and hopefully this album is the one that pushes Turner into his deserved place in the spotlight.

Check out the title track from Turner’s new LP. If you like what you hear then”Love, Ire & Song” is available from Amazon or as a download from Banquet Digital.

MP3: Frank Turner - “Love, Ire & Song”

Finally, as a new Dad, I just love this video for “Photosynthesis” - check it out: