This UK indie pop duo, comprising guitarist/vocalist Ollie Knights and multi-instrumentalist Gale Paridjanian, grew up as friends in Balham, south London. Both were members of their local church choir, and in 1989 they sang in front of the Queen at the memorial service for the Marchioness riverboat tragedy. Ten years later they were making music together as Turin Brakes. The four-track "The Door' EP was released in August 1999 on the tiny Brighton independent, Anvil, and led to a recording contract with the UK branch of hip French label, Source Records. Two further EPs preceded the release of The Optimist LP in March 2001. The duo's semi-acoustic sensibility drew comparisons to bands associated with the US alt country scene and the UK's new acoustic movement. Paridjanian's dexterous guitar work and Knights" soulful vocals added a unique spin to their intricately textured, folk-inflected songs. The album was nominated for a Mercury Award and proved to be a slow-burning commercial winner, selling in excess of 200,000 copies over a period of two years.
Buoyed by the success of The Optimist LP , Paridjanian and Knights broke into the UK Top 5 in February 2003 with the sublime "Pain Killer (Summer Rain)". The single was taken from their second album, Ether Song, which saw the duo embracing a more pop-orientated sound to notable commercial effect. The non-album single "5 Mile (These Are The Days)" and a mix collection for the Azuli label preceded the release of Jackinabox (2005), a less accessible album that included some stilted funk experiments. The follow-up Dark On Fire (2007) opted for a brighter, fuller sound but came across as somewhat forced in comparison to their earlier work.
