Roadrunner – 27 AUG 2021
Reinventing themselves yet again, Turnstile once again prove to be the possibly most innovative band in hardcore.
Nobody in hardcore punk is reinventing the genre quite like Turnstile. Well, okay, I guess there’s PEARS. And Direct Hit!, to a certain extent. And Angel Du$t, although that band has members of Turnstile anyway, plus their last album was an abrupt change from hardcore to folk punk. Okay, I guess there’s a handful of bands reinventing hardcore punk, but Turnstile remain one of the best of the lot. And if you thought their last album, Time and Space, was a revolutionary hardcore album, their newest record, GLOW ON, takes things up another notch. Ever wondered what hardcore sounds like over a salsa beat? Of course you didn’t because you’re normal. But that’s one of the many bizarre twists on this album that don’t sound like they would work, but which really do.
Opening track “MYSTERY” starts out with fluttery keyboards before launching into what sounds like the beautiful, unholy love child of Third Eye Blind and Living Colour. Then we get “BLACKOUT” which has this amazing complex drumbeat that really drives the whole song. Early Turnstile albums were notable for their combination of hardcore and funk, and while the funk isn’t as prominent on their more recent albums, they’re still doing a lot of creative things with rhythm that you don’t normally hear from a hardcore band. That salsa beat I talked about actually comes up a couple times, but it first shows up on “DON’T PPLAY,” and I never thought I’d hear that in a hardcore punk song. The opening chords of “UNDERWATER BOI” sound suspiciously similar to the opening of “Let the World Turn” by Death, and I’m going to assume that was an intentional tribute. “ALIEN LOVE CALL” slows things down a bit with a guest appearance from a member of the short lived dance-hardcore group, Test Icicles, the British singer/songwriter Blood Orange, in a song that demonstrates a diversity in style that most hardcore bands never achieve. “T.L.C. (TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION)” brings us probably the most traditional hardcore sound on the album to start with, before slowing down and bringing in some electronic elements. Finally, Blood Orange returns for the closing track, “LONELY DEZIRES,” as the album ends on a bang instead of a whimper with a brilliant song that’s both fast and melodic.
Turnstile has proven to be one of the most unpredictable bands in, not only hardcore, but punk itself. Were Turnstile to put out an album that completely switched genres–for example switching to folk punk like their offshoot band, Angel Du$t–I’d hardly be surprised. Turnstile thrives on innovation and keep themselves fresh by constant reinvention on every album. The only way genres survive is by expanding, experimenting, and growing, and Turnstile is one of the most important bands doing that in the hardcore punk scene right now.
Julie is punk rock, lesbian time lady from the future. The greatest things in the world are punk rock and science fiction. Check out her website JulieRiver.com!
