Ether Song
Labeled "quietcore" and "slo-fi," drawing attention more to instrumentation volume and a practically nonexistent movement than musical content, the Turin Brakes of The Optimist (their debut) was better served by songwriting than dynamics. Self-produced fragile folk, The Optimist swung at a melancholic strum. With sophomore album Ether Song, however, Turin Brakes has turned to studio as friend, not foe, resulting in an assured strut more akin to the second-wave that Brit-pop comparisons already leveled.      Of course, with lightly brushed psychedelics now swelling to cradle-soaring vocal harmonies, Ether Song increasingly recalls the soulful SoCo of Neil Young-era Crosby, Stills & Nash/Buffalo Springfield through Ry Cooder as it does South London. Additional moments shimmer of Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan as brightly as Radiohead, Doves and Coldplay by way of Jeff Buckley. Adding a touch of churn to chime, there’s an increased unease bubbling beneath Ether Song’s spectral lope, making a bewitching brew of triumphant introspection while not unprecedented, but still plenty personal.Tony Ware--