Be More Kind Album Review

Released: 4th May 2018

Published by: Xtra Mile and Polydor

Following “Positive Songs for Negative People” and compilation album Songbook, popular British singer Frank Turner has had his seventh release which marks itself as more thoughtful and reflective while still maintaining his classical flair.

Turner has had a massive cult following in the UK over the past decade by offering simple yet incredibly charismatic acoustic pieces and on top of that, he’s also a very down to earth chap with quite a bit to say about the world we live in.

While the album opens with the uplifting “Don’t Worry”, there’s no doubt that Be More Kind is a commentary on the difficult politics and conflicts we’re dealing with today (Make America Great Again being the most straightforward of the bunch) and it’s all a very passionate lyrical plea for people to come together and build bridges. When you home in on the lyrics, this theme shines through; for example, “They’ve started raising walls around the world now” and “Last night I had a vision of people asking questions instead of talking without listening”. For the most part, the album keeps this tone up consistently, with a couple of deviations. Blackout is fast-paced and energised, taking its inspiration from the geo-magnetic storm of 1989, and The Lifeboat hammers home the plight of refugees and migration. Each track features its fair share of acoustic guitar and on the whole the album swaps effortlessly from lively beats to more emotive numbers while also delivering excellent flow through the lyrics; Of the thirteen tracks, the titular “Be More Kind” succeeds the most at the latter. The only odd track in the album, “There She Is” is a carryover from Songbook, despite it still succeeding at pulling the heartstrings, it does lessen the album’s impact a bit.

With wide variety and a strong thematic pull, Frank Turner’s latest album is another brilliant effort that compels you to share both his concerns for the world and his hope that people will do better. Both regular fans and newcomers to his music will easily latch on.

Rating: B

See more from Frank Turner on his Facebook page.