Positive Songs For Negative People by Frank Turner

If you aren't familiar with Frank Turner, where have you been for the last eight years!? This singer/songwriter/musician from the humble earth of Hampshire has been creating beautiful acoustic nuggets to sooth the soul and mind across five very successful albums. He's been so successful (he played the London Olympic opening ceremony for Pete's sake!) that he's even had time to go back and dabble in his punk roots in the form of his gnarly side project Mongol Horde. But now he's back as adorable as ever with his latest offering entitled Positive Songs For Negative People.

PSFNP is upbeat troubadour folk. It's full of fast and furious acoustic guitar playing that would make a set based on this album a huge party rather than a stare and sway affair and he truly has taken a bunch of songs that could pick the saddest of us off the ground and lift us up with positivity. Frank Turner has always done honesty beautifully and that is no different on this album. "Life gave me demons but I made friends with the devil so I'm invincible" declares Turner triumphantly on Demons and with similar conviction he shouts "we can get better because we're not dead yet" on the stomping Get Better. Lyrics from song after song on this album could be pulled as perfect examples of just how serious Turner was about writing positive songs for negative people and similarly, riff after riff, melody after melody, could be discussed as examples of the passion and talent that this man has for his music.

This is an album of classic singalong folk-rock; it's uplifting and heartfelt and it is one of Turner's best efforts to create a consistently great album from start to end.

8/10
Listen to: Demons, Song For Josh