Frank Turner // ‘Isabel’

Lulling you in with some messy piano, ‘Isabel’ is a welcome change to the sound of the folksy acoustic guitar we have come to know and love Frank Turner for. The third single from his 2009 ‘Poetry of the Deed’ album, ‘Isabel’ still fits in with the general tone of Frank’s songs – why fix something which isn’t broken, right? Frank Turner can effortlessly stun with his great lyrics, this time speaking of the notion of change – a notion we all can relate to: “The world has changed, and I must change as well”. These transitional lyrics reflect upon how he is becoming a bigger star – headlining a sell out tour in venues such as Brixton Academy. I was fortunate enough recently to see Mr Turner live and he performed ‘Isabel’ wonderfully. A clearly polished and well thought out track, ‘Isabel’ is a classic sing-a-long which flows wonderfully and thrives upon catchy and persistent instrumentation. It was only a matter of a few years ago that he was playing small gigs in pubs and clubs, including one of my favourite haunts in Portsmouth which was unfortunately recently closed down. He is due to headline the 2000trees festival in July and also be part of some of the UK’s top summer festivals this year – which just goes to show that Mr Turner is fast becoming a great success, rising up from his cult underground status, where unfortunately many like him remain.