Album Review

Frank Turner – The Real Damage EP

• 7th May 2007

Former member of Million Dead, Frank Turner has re-invented himself as a folk style singer/songwriter and he has done a great job of harnessing the intensity and angst of Million Dead’s music and converting it into lush acoustic tracks.

The opening track “The Real Damage” documents a familiar story of wasted weekends away with friends. The track breams with charm and is really listenable, with tracks like this opener Turner could set himself up as a Billy Bragg figure for the under 30’s. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear artists like Tuner releasing material that people can relate to rather than mainstream pop/folk artists like James Blunt and James Morrison.

The other tracks are previously unreleased and do not match up to the EP’s opener but there are still some really touching and amusing moments, ‘Heartless Bastard Motherfucker’ could easily be an Mmm Bop for a jilted 20 year old but there is definitely enough promise here to give his debut album a good listen. Definitely one to watch out for in the future.