Following the success and stress of Ether Song, the band took a short break, but not before touring Australia and New Zealand and releasing a DJ mix album for Azuli Records' Late Night Tales series in February 2004. The mix album (2004) was a collection of some of their favourite songs and main influences, and also contained The Rolling Stones song "Moonlight Mile" as a cover. The band have done some DJ sets in the London area over the years. Turin Brakes @ Brixton Academy". XFM. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013 . Retrieved 2 December 2012. The album's commercial performance created some tension between the band and their label. In fact, between tours in the United States (their own headline tour and supporting David Gray) in the Summer of 2003, the band recorded a new single for a re-release of Ether Song with Tony Hoffer. The first re-release of Ether Song, featuring an orange version of the cover and single 5 Mile was released on 6 October 2003. 5 Mile charted higher than Average Man (no. 31 [12]) but was largely overlooked by UK radio stations. Overall, the album was re-released four times during its lifespan, [13] and received various bonus discs between regions and versions. The band was on record as being unhappy with the way the record company was treating them and the fans regarding the release.

Knights says they surprised themselves with what came out: a “sweeter, groovier” set of songs in no hurry to be anything but themselves. All I can say is, it's like catching a gentle wave, and then it speeds everything up. You feel this force that's bigger than you, pushing you along for a while. Being in a band is bloody hard work. Most of the time you’re having to get up and drive it yourself, and when something else drives it for a while, it's just lovely. Like surfing a wave, you've got to enjoy that feeling when it's happening. Knights shares that festival crowds require a switching into a different mindset when compared to people coming to see them specifically at their shows:

Turin Brakes Announce 2019-20 Acoustic Tour

Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol.21, no.11. 8 March 2003. p.9 . Retrieved 15 March 2020. I think once you've made the piece of work, it really doesn't matter what your personal function in it all was. It's got to be its own thing, and if it's ambiguous and then inspires weird ideas and images in people's heads – and even a bit of confusion – then great! The band spent the first half of 2006 writing new songs, occasionally performing both new and old work at small gigs across the UK. The band did an intimate tour in November 2006 to try out new material. In January 2007 the band entered a recording studio in London to record their fourth album with producer Ethan Johns. After three weeks the band took a break (on 29 January Paridjanian's wife gave birth to a daughter), but the sessions were resumed several weeks later in a bigger studio (also in London). On the last day of March 2007 the band announced that they had finished the recording sessions, and recorded 17 songs. Early 2002, the band started work on their second album. After demo sessions in Rye, United Kingdom, the band flew to Los Angeles, California to record with producer Tony Hoffer in the Summer of 2002. In October 2002, this resulted in single Long Distance (reaching no. 31 [7] ) and an arena tour supporting David Gray.

Pain Killer (UK limited 7-inch single sleeve). Turin Brakes. Source Records. 2003. SOUR 068. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link)

Credits (5)

a b Pain Killer (UK CD single liner notes). Turin Brakes. Source Records. 2003. SOURCDF 068. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDFed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p.285. Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. The song’s lyrics have become something of an in-joke over the years, with fans speculating as to the hidden meanings behind the sometimes abstract, sometimes very literal lyrics. Knights isn’t about to spoil the fun after 19 years.

Pain Killer (European limited CD single liner notes). Turin Brakes. Source Records. 2003. SOURCDF 068, 7243 5 52125 0 4. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) Because festivals and touring went away for a while, what we've noticed is there's more positive feeling from the crowd. Bands appreciate playing at the moment more than they ever did, because it looked like it might never happen again for a while – as absurd as that sounds. So festivals feel really magical and more important than they did before, and long may it last.” a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.569. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.Masterton, James (23 February 2003). "Week Ending March 1st 2003". Chart Watch UK . Retrieved 15 March 2021. Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer Batter up the hatches Here comes a cold Friends would visit, kids would add a voice or two, bees would buzz and we'd get to sit in the South London sun while the music poured out of the speakers and floated across the lawn. Sometimes we decided it's okay to just let it happen naturally, not to try too hard - just get out of the way let the songs take shape, and that maybe you don't have to be in a bad place to make the deeper cuts." That meant I was hearing all this wobbly synth music for the first time in years in the house, and the new record definitely has some wobbly synths on it. I love that because it keeps things fresh.