Single Review: Frank Turner – The Next Storm

Header photo by Ben Morse
In anticipation of the release of his sixth studio album, Frank Turner has recently unveiled the video for a brand new track called ‘The Next Storm’. If this song is any indication, the eagerly awaited new album, titled ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’, will be a much more uplifting affair than his previous LP, 2013’s ‘Tape Deck Heart’. Indeed, the other songs from the new album that Turner previewed earlier this year at SXSW 2015 seem to be written from a much more positive frame of mind than heartwrenching songs like ‘The Way I Tend To Be’ and even the rollicking ‘Recovery’, both from ‘Tape Deck Heart’.
‘The Next Storm’ is a typically Frank Turner track, with energetic rhythms and straightforward lyrics, but it does have a surprisingly different flavor from what Turner has already put on offer as appetizers for our hungry palates. Its refrain of “I don’t want to spend the whole my life indoors / lay low, and waiting on the next storm / I don’t want to spend the whole my life inside / I wanna step out and face the sunshine” has a definite air of determination about it, while the rolling piano and the backing chorus of “rejoice, rejoice” give the song a jubilantly euphoric, though very slight, gospel rock tinge.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/P4IZbCl6iR4[/youtube]
The presumably symbolic video for ‘The Next Storm’ features scenes of Turner duking it out in the boxing ring with WWE champion C.M. Punk, interspersed with typically energetic performance shots of Turner and his backing band The Sleeping Souls. Turner takes a hefty beating in the ring, with Sleeping Souls drummer Nigel Powell in a cameo as the match referee declaring him down for the count, but he bounces back in the end to shake hands with his victorious opponent. Though Turner has clearly taken a tough loss, he appears to come away stronger for the experience.
8.5/10
‘The Next Storm’ will be released on the 3rd of August as the first single from ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’. The album itself will be released on the 7th of August on Polydor Records. You can read our previous coverage of Frank Turner, including his shows at SXSW earlier this year and his upcoming November UK tour dates, right back here.
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