Album Review: Frank Turner - Tape Deck Heart

In an earlier record, Frank Turner sings about friends who are “chatting up the It girls” and “tearing up the charts”, but now, it's his turn. Tape Deck Heart hit number two in the UK album charts in its first week, and well, it's about time. Turner's anthemic tunes resonate with a generation of quarter-life crisis-ers, who'll relate to The Way I Tend To Be describing hell as “making do and muddling through when you've no where else to go”.

The first track and debut single Recovery has the same vigour as Turner's previous fist in the air, The Hold Steady-meets-folk guitar tracks. However, the record settles down from there, and even Four Simple Words' “I want to dance” chorus struggles to pick up the pace. Turner regularly sings of perseverance, and thankfully Tape Deck Heart is a record that rewards such an attitude. Tracks that at first seem slow soon suck you in with Turner's honest lyrics and battle cries. Anymore is so quiet you'll want to turn the volume up to hear Turner's tale of heartbreak, yet the struggle evident in Turner's vocals gives it a gut-wrenching strength as he muscles up to “Not with a bang but with a whimper/It wasn't hard, it was kind of simple”. Along with the dwindling pace the most notable change from previous records is the almost excessive use of mandolin.

Frank Turner's strength is in the power he wields with just his voice and an acoustic guitar, and Tape Deck Heart cements this, both reminding us of his potency and showing us how distracting a little extra production can be.