For Turin Brakes - Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian - Outbursts is a welcome return to roots.

Their 2001 Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album The Optimist was essentially an acoustic guitar based album written, played and produced by the twosome. And while that propelled them onwards and upwards, it was at a price, with their sound over their three subsequent albums morphing - under major label pressure - into an Ethan Jones produced electric soft rock act.

So with Outbursts, they've re-taken control and turned over the page to open a new chapter in their career designed to reignite the intimacy of their earlier material. As a result, it's once again written, produced and [mostly] played without outside help or any preconceived game plan.

And it's an approach that pays off. The album opens with the lead single - Sea Change - a bright an infectious piece of pop build around some lovely finger picking acoustic guitars and harmony vocals. It set the standard of what follows - a mature piece of adult pop that oscillates between a contemporary Simon and Garfunkel and country / Americana styles.

The band's intention was to 'go back and do this whole thing like we used to - 'where the magic is'. Mission accomplished.

***

Review by Pete Whalley