Turin Brakes

Often likened to Coldplay and Travis, the English indie rock outfit Turin Brakes emerged from Balham, London, drawing on folk and progressive rock traditions. Their sound merges acoustic and electric elements, presenting crisp, cool sonic textures that contrast with the emotional depth and human touch supplied by the lyrics and vocals. On 2003’s Ether Song, acoustic guitars and the measured, heartfelt singing of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian took center stage, whereas 2007’s Dark on Fire introduced a tougher rock drive to the arrangements, and 2022’s Wide-Eyed Nowhere matured into a balanced fusion of acoustic and electronic textures animated by global concerns.

Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian launched Turin Brakes in 1999 after a friendship that began in elementary school. As children they auditioned for the cathedral choir in hopes of singing before the Queen of England, an opportunity they later seized. Influenced by an eclectic mix that included Sebadoh, Truman’s Water, Prince, and the Black Crowes, the pair began writing and capturing their spontaneous jam sessions; one such session yielded their debut release, The Door EP, issued on Anvil in 1999. The State of Things EP appeared the following year on Source, after which Rob Allum and Eddie Myer joined to complete the lineup. The expanded group soon performed at the Reading and Leeds festivals, and a third U.K.-only EP, Fight or Flight, surfaced later in 2000 while they supported Kathryn Williams, Doves, and Lowgold. Their first full-length, The Optimist LP, arrived in 2001 via Astralwerks and earned a Mercury Prize nomination. Ether Song followed in 2003 to strong reviews and commercial success that broadened their audience, while the more refined Jackinabox two years later reflected Knights and Paridjanian’s increased production involvement and expanded instrumental palette.

Teaming with producer Ethan Johns, Turin Brakes started work on their fourth album in early 2007; although recording paused when Paridjanian and his wife welcomed a daughter, Dark on Fire still appeared that autumn. The band returned to melodic, folk-tinged territory with 2010’s Outbursts, their debut for the British indie imprint Cooking Vinyl. Olly Knights issued the solo album If Not Now When in 2012. The following year Turin Brakes reconvened for their sixth studio set, We Were Here, which led to extensive European and U.K. touring plus a slot at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas. Late in 2015 they announced they had tracked a new album at Rockfield Studios in Wales; Lost Property emerged in February 2016, its assured studio polish evident throughout. An eighteen-month tour spanning the U.K., Europe, and Australia followed. Upon returning, the group headed straight back into the studio, resulting in the January 2018 release of their ninth album, Invisible Storm. An acoustic tour launched in 2019 and continued into 2020. In summer 2021 the members convened at Olly Knights’ home, where he had installed a garden studio; allowing the songs to develop naturally, they shaped eleven tracks issued in September 2022 as Wide-Eyed Nowhere, an album whose themes embraced both reflection and hope.