England Keep My Bones

iTunes Review

Formerly with British hardcore outfit Million Dead, Frank Turner has taken a turn into singer-songwriter territory, putting his considerable skills to good use. Turner manages to sound commercial but not bland, tapping into the folk sounds of both England and America, while retaining the bite of punk rock. After several releases, Turner ended up on U.S. punk stalwart label Epitaph, which should keep fans from his Million Dead days tuned in. Hints of Billy Bragg flavor the cheeky “Eulogy,” the atheist flag-waving “Glory Hallelujah,” and the holler-along, fist-pumper “If Ever I Stray.” A more traditional British folk feel underlies “Rivers” and “Nights Become Days,” with their gentle, fingerpicked guitars and Turner’s voice as inviting as a shady tree in August. Turner possesses real songwriting acuity, and whether going for commercial, radio-friendly fare (the mid-tempo, piano-wreathed “Peggy Sang the Blues” and “Redemption” would fit neatly next to Coldplay), or turning up the punk with tunes like the pugnacious “One Foot Before the Other,” it’s the integrity of the songs’ structures giving them real staying power.