Turnstile — GLOW ON — Album Review
Rock | Hardcore | Punk
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
If you had read my review for Turnstile’s EP released earlier this year, titled TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION, you would’ve seen this paragraph I wrote;
“It does make me beg the question “is this EP a midway point for a larger project coming later on?”, everything I’ve looked at seems to point to the fact that it isn’t, and is instead Turnstile’s musical spoonful for the year. However, I hope that I am proven wrong.”
I’m glad that I was proven wrong.
The fact that the earlier EP was indeed a teaser of things to come, became pretty clear shortly after the release of my review. In the form of their follow-up single “ALIEN LOVE CALL”, Turnstile kept the hype-train going, and had me very excited. Not only that, this track also saw the unlikely but amazing collaboration between Turnstile and Blood Orange (who actually makes more than one appearance on the album.
This track made one thing clear; Turnstile were undoubtedly going for a more dreamy approach to their hardcore punk sound. And this, I feel, is the perfect realisation of Turnstiles uniquely fun style of the hardcore punk that fans know and love. People like myself, who have been fans of the band for a while, will more likely than not appreciate this change wholeheartedly. After all, this is the kind of stylistic fusion that the band have been building up towards for so many years (or at least that’s how I see it).
But honestly though, GLOW ON may not only be one of the most fun records that Turnstile have put out, but it may just be one of the most light-hearted projects to ever come from a hardcore punk band. It feels remarkably refreshing to see Turnstile prove once and for all, that their core genre of music doesn’t have to be backed up into any corners of seriousness.
And in terms of this fun and dreamy aesthetic, that remains pretty consistent throughout the entirety of the record. Of course we have had 7 tracks revealed to us before the release of the entirety of GLOW ON. However, there is a large handful of amazing tracks that are entirely new. Some great examples, off the top of my head, would be the likes of “WILD WRLD” and “NEW HEART DESIGN”.
When it coems to tracks, my only real gripe would have to be “NO SURPRISE”; an interlude of sorts, that held no real significance of the TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION EP, and still doesn’t really link up to any track on here either.
Nevertheless, I feel that almost all tracks on this thing knock it out of the park, when it comes to bringing something completely fresh and unique, while not compromising too much of their energetic heaviness that fans love them for.
GLOW ON is by far the most Turnstile-esque of any records the band have put out so far. As a result, it is also the most unique. The vibrant, sunny vibes that this album has, does leave me wishing it was released a few months earlier. However, I am truly thrilled to see Turnstile bless listeners with yet another enjoyable piece. This is indeed that kind of record that I would be dying to hear live!
Favourite Tracks: ALIEN LOVE CALL | WILD WRLD | NEW HEART DESIGN
Least Favourite Track: NO SURPRISE
Roadrunner Records
Enjoyment: 9/10 | Memorability: 8/10 | Atmosphere: 10/10
Uniqueness: 9/10 | Satisfaction: 10/10 | Narrative: 7/10
