Frank Turner: England Keep My Bones

"Now who'd have thought, that after all, something as simple as rock and roll would save us all." Those words from "I Still Believe" sum up a large part of Frank Turner's outlook, there are terrible things that happen in the world (and he's not afraid to sing about them) but music really can help save us all. On England Keep My Bones, his 4th solo album, Turner has given us a fantastic and varied record full of conviction, passion, hooks, energy and a love of rock and roll.

England Keep My Bones kicks off with the intro track "Eulogy" (another one that portrays Turner's look on life) before the back to back outstanding folk punk of "Peggy Sang the Blues" and "I Still Believe." The rest of the album features such stylistic variations as acoustic folk ("Rivers," "Night's Become Days"), Hard Rock ("One Foot Before the Other"), piano enhanced ruminations of life and love ("I Am Disappeared," "Redemption"), pub ready sing-a-longs ("If Ever I Stray," "Wessex Boy") and even an acapella British history lesson ("English Curse"). The closing atheist anthem, "Glory, Hallelujah" is a song with a message I don't personally agree with but is almost impossible to resist singing along with just the same. While the subject matter tends to be fairly specific to England, the passion, heart and sense of joy that Turner brings to every song is completely universal.

Frank Turner has made some great music in the past (and he puts on one hell of a live show as well) but England Keep My Bones is a big step up. It's a fantastic album that will certainly be a strong contender for at least my year end top ten list. If you enjoy music that is pure and comes from the heart, there is no reason to not get a copy of this as soon as possible.

Rating: 4.5

Track Listing:

1. "Eulogy" (1:34)
2. "Peggy Sang the Blues" (3:33)
3. "I Still Believe" (3:45)
4. "Rivers" (4:34)
5. "I Am Disappeared" (4:47)
6. "English Curse" (2:17)
7. "One Foot Before the Other" (3:26)
8. "If I Ever Stray" (2:54)
9. "Wessex Boy" (3:34)
10. "Nights Become Days" (4:26)
11. "Redemption" (4:48)
12. "Glory Hallelujah" (4:36)