It’s available from various retailers (Bol.com, Kroese) but can be ordered at basically any specialist record shop that has a customer import ordering service. Hopefully Turin Brakes and / or Cooking Vinyl will be selling it via their own webshops as well.

With artwork to match the sonic outbursts on the record and a classy 8-page full-colour booklet, this album is a piece of art in more ways than one.

180 grams audiophile vinyl
Gatefold Sleeve
8-page full-colour booklet

Tracklisting:
A1 The Sea Change (4:02)
A2 Mirror (2:56)
A3 Rocket Song (3:23)
A4 Paper Heart (3:47)
A5 The Invitation (3:30)
A6 Will Power (3:59)

B1 Apocalips (3:39)
B2 Embryos (3:11)
B3 Never Stops (4:11)
B4 The Letting Down (4:03)
B5 Radio Silence (4:07)
B6 Outbursts (5:05)

We still need tabs for these songs as well, so if you work anything out on your six string, send it in!

Now, US news. The boys are currently trying to get the visas arranged that will allow them to tour in the USA. If things go right (which they should, even though Gale has been detained as a suspect terrorist in the past ), a US tour will kick off very, very soon. Turin Brakes are playing a show in Dublin in June, so it might be before mid June or after it… We’ll see though.

In the meantime, all you US people can buy the new record from tomorrow (Monday), so burst out if you can!

Right now I’m not sure whether the album is released with the same bonus track on iTunes US (Endless Freeze Frame), but tomorrow all will be revealed. The CD version is the same. The album is released through Cooking Vinyl USA.

Furthermore, the setlists so far has been a mix of oldies and new ones. TB tweeted the setlists for the first two dates, Rich also sent me an email (thanks!). If you notice changes, please let me know!

SEA CHANGE
MIND OVER MONEY
STONE THROWN
MIRROR
FEELING OBLIVION
NEVER STOPS
RAIN CITY
EMERGENCY 72
PAPER HEART
APOCOLIPS
PAIN KILLER
FISHING FOR A DREAM
DARK ON FIRE
RADIO SILENCE
LONG DISTANCE

OUTBURSTS
ROCKET SONG
UNDERDOG (SAVE ME)

THE ROAD
STATE OF THINGS

The Road hasn’t been played live in many years and this tour sees the first outings of Rocket Song, Outbursts, Radio Silence, Apocolips and Mirror.

Rich (who sent the setlist in) also mentioned that Olly said Rocket Song will be the second single from the Outbursts album. These days TB are regularly tweeting lunch and tour updates, so keep an eye on their Twitter page.

And yes, I’m biased – very biased. But hey, isn’t everyone?

The Sea Change
Lyrically and musically, this song is the perfect introduction for the album. It starts of acoustically, then builds up with more layers and strings. Eventually, it explodes dramatically, though not going over the top as much as one would expect. It’s also the most repetitive song of the record and the lyrics (6 billion backs against the wall) are very urgent. In that way it does remind of The Optimist (song): oh, it’s too late lonely planet…

Mirror
This second track is vintage Turin Brakes. It’s similar to State Of Things in the verses, but with more piano and a different vibe behind it all together. It’s easy to like this song and just like on the opening track, there’s nice riffs by Gale going on all through this song.

Rocket Song
This song sees Olly singing lower than ever before in the verses and then going as high as ever in the chorus. It’s like a Rocket lifting off (this love is a rocket bound for the stars). The acoustic strumming is supported by synths and strings. While this would have been misplaced on any previous TB album, it’s not that much of a departure. Perhaps stylistically it is, but it doesn’t thread unfamiliar waters just yet.

Paper Heart
A guitar and piano driven song with quite a lot of drama in the instrumental interludes. The lyrics on this song are very fitting and in style with metaphor of a fragile (paper) world being changed by the arrival of a (love?) interest (you rearrange the sunset and terrorise the town – if only I knew from the start, you’d set fire to my paper heart). It’s the most heartfelt songs on the record that is yet wrapped in an imaginary world. The production reflects this very well. Though the low-key live version I heard in Canterbury was pretty good as well.

The Invitation
The chords in the verse do reference older work, like Capsule, but the chorus takes this song to another level. The melody is haunting and the production here is very subtle. It doesn’t distract from the rest of the song and there’s some very lovely minor chords in this. Yet all this spookiness doesn’t feel out of character. This song is currently one of my favourites.

Will Power
I guess this song is this album’s Something In My Eye: it’s an anthem, it’s done, it’s a round thing. Reminiscent of U2′s With Or Without You, it’s by far the slickest song on the album. It would make a strong single, I guess, but it wouldn’t be the best ‘album taster’.

Apocolips
This Gale-penned (and partly sung) song was available as a download for quite some time and it’s easy to see why: it showcases elements we see returning on rest of the album (the guitar riffs, the harmonies, the layered approach), even more than Sea Change does. The song shows the difference from the previous record: it’s not at all “in your face”, or straight-forward. It’s the strong point of this album.

Embryos
After all this layered and structured production, Embryos, kicks in as a breath of fresh air. A lovely acoustic song in a style that reminds me of Blackbird featuring the long overdue return of Gale on (pretty much solo) lead vocals. It’s a charming song and one of the standout tracks, especially because it’s so different from the rest of the songs on the record.

Never Stops
Listeners can be easily fooled by Never Stops. It starts of as any other Outbursts track, so when the guitar and minimalistically executed rhythm kick off, you would expect some heavy instrumentation to kick in once the chorus arrives. But none of that is the case here. The songs stays small, only adding subtle piano as it gets going. It’s one of the more simple songs on the record, but if nothing else, it once again states that Turin Brakes are still capable of doing the straight-forward acoustic songs without bombarding the listener with production. For some, this song might be too simple. But I find myself listening to it again and again.

The Letting Down
To describe it as a Invitation Part 2, would be unfair but the fact is that these tracks are similar in melody and background choirs (made up of Ollys). The song is slower and while the Invitation has some strange romance over it, this song has more of a timeless feel to it. It’s a song that’s hard to pin down, for me. It feels like a rollercoaster in slow motion, going up and down again.

Radio Silence
The most definite proof that this album was made without the help of a record company, is the lack of singles. So far, only Will Power and Rocket Song would qualify as bonafide ‘hits’ with a classic chorus – verse structure (to me at least). Radio Silence is another contester though, even though it’s more complex. Lyrically, this song really hits the right spot (I’m an old soul in a young shell. I broke down at the crossroads) and even though the surprise ending is somewhat over the top, the rest of the song makes up for it and even makes it another personal highlight.

Outbursts
For some reason, when the final track is also the title track it builds up expectations. Both The Optimist and Ether Song are songs that set these high expectations for me. So it’s hard to know what the final song will be like. And even when the song starts it’s hard to make something of it at first. It has a slightly electrified guitar, but not much more than that. The song is like an afterthought, a summation. Turin Brakes have always been good at these type of middle of the night realisations (think Rain City and New Star) and after a few listens, this track is definitely as good as those. The lyrics are almost cheesy (I love you everyday, even if it doesn’t seem that way). It’s a nice winding-down song that says very small and intimate. There are repeated mentions of Summer Rain: and the summer rain won’t wash this love away… – which are also the last words of the record. It’s not an anthem, in fact it’s not even an emotional afterthought… It’s more like an idea, in the middle of the night… That had to be recorded. It’s melancholy, but in a happy way – if that’s possible.

Round up
This record has some bits that really work well, some bits that feel odd, some bits to get used to, some bits that feel strangely familiar. Overall it’s a very varied record which should remain interesting. The record is both subtle and very strong. Outbursts does really feel like it is Turin Brakes captured on a record again – as seen by Turin Brakes. If you’ve been following the bus ride for the past ten years, this record will really make sense. At least it does to me. The songs are up close and personal, embedded by layers that make it more interesting. Outbursts features more difficult concepts, riffs and hooks than Dark on Fire, without feeling contrived. When I finished listening I had to smile and sigh at the same time. And then I went back to listen for a second time.

So yes. I’ve decided that I really like this record. But as I said, I am biased. So I really hope you like it to. You should like it.

The album is available in stores tomorrow.

You were thinking that too, weren’t you? Well your prayers / thoughts / whispers / annoying emails / shouts / cries have been heard! The official Myspace profile has undergone a revamp just in time for the album launch. Besides a new banner, album purchase links and a vague new background, the profile features new tracks on the player, which feature 2 minutes of each of the first six songs from of Outbursts, apart from The Invitation (sorry, you’re gonna have to wait to hear that one on the record, I suppose). Then again, Will Power preview lasts almost 2 minutes and 20 seconds, so I guess that makes up for something…

In more disappointing news: the Absolute Radio session has been moved to 3 March… Grmbl… Annoying… Don’t want to wait that long? Just so you know that’s actually next Wednesday. Well not next Wednesday but the one after that. Unless you’re reading this on Wednesday. In which case it’s just next Wednesday. Or today. Or last Wednesday. Or… Never mind.

What do you think of the previews? Are you liking what you hear so far? Leave a comment!

If we don’t wear this,
nobody else will

On the back it says: “OUTBURSTS by Turin Brakes, March 2010″ (and the website logo is on the back as well)

So I figured it would be nice if people bought one and then wore it at least on the album release day as well as on any other occasion you can think off… Spread the word and things like that. Standard, the t-shirts are red, but you can pick your favourite colour on the product page (beware that the print might not be readable if your chosen colour is very light).

I tried to get the shirts as cheap as possible, but with all these words on both the front and the back, the t-shirts now cost 20 euros (excl. shipping). Now, up to 7 February you can get a free shipping discount if you enter the coupon code INLOVE2010 when asked for it:

Click here to go to Ether Site merchandise shop now.

Now, if you have any special t-shirt requests, don’t hesitate to email! If you have nice ideas to extend this campaign, please contact me as well!

It’s safe to say more dates will be announced soon. The band have hinted on Myspace they’ll be returning to Italy and there hasn’t been a EU tour without dates in Germany, so that seems like a pretty safe bet as well. More dates should be announced soon enough. Check back here to find the latest to datest.

Meanwhile, if you hate pen scribbles all over your CD booklets or are worried you’re too late for those signed copies, other retailers (like Amazon.co.uk) have started taking pre-orders for the new Turin Brakes album.