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“It’s our sci-fi folk rock album” is what vocalist and guitarist Mike Lindsay calls Turbines, Tunng's latest album. It’s hard to disagree with this assessment as their latest release gently floats around the listener's head space. For their fifth studio album, Tunng have delivered an eclectic mix of styles that encompasses folk, pop, trip hop and electronica. They have woven together a rich tapestry of sounds that never seem self-indulgent.

Turbines opens with 'Once', a song that exhibits Tunng's trademark vocal style in which their voices barely rise above a whisper. Mike Lindsay's deep timbre blends beautifully with Becky Jacob's sweet tones accompanied by a piano and a light guitar melody. The record drifts into 'Trip Trap' and 'So Far From Here', showing the band’s fondness for offbeat electronic sounds. These elements are created by the band members Phil Winter and Ben Edwards and bring to mind artists like Four Tet and Caribou. For the majority of Turbines, the speed rarely changes from mid-tempo, but the fusion of simple melodies, subdued vocals and washes of electronica keep the music engrossing. 'By This' is a good example as it shows how a repetitive guitar line with the right accompaniment can become hypnotic and spellbinding.

A noticeable difference with Turbines, compared to previous releases Mother's Daughter and Other Songs and Comments of the Inner Chorus, is that there is a new consistency and maturity. Their past work, although memorable, was often loose and raw. Lindsay mentions that “a lot [has] happened in this band in the last couple of years,” and this is evidenced by the band’s progression. Tunng have always had a gift for fusing pastoral folk with otherworldly sounds, but on Turbines they have honed their craft. This new-found maturity means that Tunng have created a sci-fi rock album that isn't epic or grand, but emotive and intimate.

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