Britain’s band?

The American music scene is still suffering. One Pearl Jam was plenty. So, we look to a land where there has always been a reliable source of originality only to find that it, too, is suffering. The so-called “new British Invasion” is turning out a brand of generic rip-offs all its own.

It is too easy to toss London’s new big thing, Turin Brakes, into the same quiet-core scene as UK contemporaries such as Coldplay, Travis, Doves and Badly Drawn Boy, but something else is going on here.

The Optimist LP was not easy to critique. On first listen, the friendly duo’s album was on its way to the pile labeled “Discarded Brit-pop.” Here’s why: Strike one – Olly Knight’s girly voice is all to reminiscent of Geddy Lee of Rush. Strike two – The acoustic guitars and song-crafting give way to something Dave Matthews might like to make his own for one of his downward-spiraling acoustic outings. Strike three – Sheltered music listeners abroad are dubbing the duo as an acoustic-folk version of Radiohead (No, no, no).

Things changed when I resurrected this album from its plastic grave for a second listen. On trial two I began to see a different side to The Optimist LP. I paced the floor trying to make sense of what was going on here. “Is this the UK’s answer to Evan and Jaron?” I asked myself, and thankfully I concluded that it’s not. Listen to “Future Boy” – there is substance here, maybe out of the same school as Pink Floyd’s Meddle. The harmonies displayed on tracks like “State of Things” are intensely layered and well thought out.

Take a listen, or better yet take two. There is potential here, but whether or not The Optimist LP is a worthy addition to your collection is entirely up to you.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 28 2001. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry