Turnstile

Turnstile’s Glow On is a downright masterstroke in crushing anyone’s conventions on hardcore. While most hardcore bands fall victim to macho/tough guy cliches, Glow On finds the band elevating themselves and the music to a level many of their peers will struggle to reach going forward. Make no mistake though, Turnstile is a hardcore band and there are songs about topics you would find in most hardcore songs like youth, P.MA., loss, joy and anger. The difference here is how they manage to transcend these feelings and the captivating way in which they refuse to not color within the lines of traditional hardcore norms by wonderfully blending pieces of R&B, alt rock, thrash, synth and even Latin music into the mix. 

Glow On radiates warmth, inclusion, gratitude and acceptance. The energy of the songs go from the feeling of walking on the beach to being in the pit with your friends to reflecting on moments that have come to pass. Brendon Yates lyrics throughout the album focus on finding love in others, yourself and the things around you. They’re filled with hope that maybe the world is not all awful and better things are coming. Some of the most touching lyrics are found on the track Fly Again which seem to be an ode to late Power Trip singer, Riley Gale with Yates yelling a chorus of “Still can’t fill the hole you left behind/Long nights” or on the track Holiday - “Too bright to live, too bright to die/I wanna celebrate/Beauty is built not from outside/And Imagine it”. Each track on the album shines no matter which member on vocals is at the helm - whether it’s lead vocalist Brendon Yates, bassist Franz Lyons or guest spots from Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange. Their voices blend together perfectly and the instrumentation on the album creates these instant earworms that get stuck in your head. 

Turnstile have put together an album that could be a major turning point for hardcore. It questions the definition of what the term hardcore means. It feels akin to The Shape of Punk to Come by Refused or at least that great album that you hear your older sibling listening to for the first time and it changes your world.

Check out Glow On for yourself at the following links:

Apple Music

Spotify

Amazon

By: Chris Fitzgerald