Album Review

Frank Turner – The Road

• 25th Aug 2009

The theme of travel seems to permeate much of Frank Turner’s music, and this, the lead single from forthcoming album ‘Poetry of the Deed’, is no exception.

Picking up where tracks like ‘Jet Lag’ and ‘St Christopher is Coming Home’ left off, ‘The Road uses the admittedly unadventurous symbol of the road to represent the strains encountered in Turner’s dual role as touring musician and inquisitive globetrotter, and packages it within a simple verse-chorus arrangement.

Although Frank’s move to Epitaph (in the US only) has arguably prompted a drive towards greater commercial success, the accessibility of the tune thankfully does not come at the expense of the intelligent and thoughtful lyrics for which the former Million Dead frontman is known and loved.

While perhaps lacking the depth of some of his previous work, ‘The Road’ still shows that Frank Turner has no plans to change direction or compromise his values despite moving to a larger record label. This is an example which many others ought to follow.