by Isaiah Smith
reporter

   Here comes the sun. So get ready for the next attempt at a British invasion. Turin Brakes has hit America with its new album Jackinabox in stores now.
   Any Beatles fan needs to sit up and pay attention because this band is heavily influenced by that classic Beatles groove. “They Can’t Buy the Sun,” the first track, has the same feel as “Here Comes the Sun.” If that similarity is intentional or not, I cannot tell.
   The music is light and acoustic, balanced well by the vocals of the duo, Gale Paridjanian and Olly Knight, with plenty of percussion in the background.
   “ Over and Over” has a great background hook with a chorus that will stick in your head over and over again. It’s playing in my mind now because I’m writing about it. The London duo shows much musical dexterity on this track.
   One negative—when first listening to the band, it is hard to understand what they are saying in some parts. However, several bands have that problem, so it is not that big of a deal. But you have to listen to the album a few times before you fully get the meaning of the songs, another quality the duo shares with the Beatles.
   This band loves love. This let’s-all-love-one-another kind of music has been a hole in the musical market that needed to be filled since the Black Eyed Peas sold out on its sophomore album.
   On “Building Wraps Around Me,” the duo has some good high range guitar bridges that get into the sub-conscience. I don’t know what this track is about because of the aforementioned problem with understanding them, not only because of slurred words but because of strange lyrics. However it has a good mellow vibe.
   “ Jackinabox,” the title track, is a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and a little bit of something new I cannot put my finger on.
   I like this different something, which indicates where this band is going. I hope they stay there.
   “ The track ‘Jackinabox’ feels like a new place for us,” Paridjan-ian said in a press release. “The record is simple and direct and up for it. Not morose. A jack-in-a-box is a box of tricks, this thing you open that’s alive and exciting.”
   Jackinabox is definitely full of surprises as on the last track “Come And Go,” which Knights described as a “bossa nova for the 21st century.” Let it play after the song ends because there is a hidden track of ambient music.
   The hidden track is one of my favorites because it reminds me of the background music for Metroid Prime on the Nintendo Gamecube.
   It also has laughing spliced in at some points, always a cool sound in music.
   Overall, Turin Brakes manages to pull a pretty good album out of its Jackinabox of tricks. I give this CD four stars. It has a wide appeal and is very radio friendly.