Traditionally, when people say hardcore bands have “progressed” it means they’ve begun the slow process of abandoning the genre for something more accessible. Plenty of hardcore bands have started slipping into 90s alt-rock territory, but Baltimore’s Turnstile use their new album, Glow On, to draw out the fact that heavy radio-friendly rock was built on hardcore’s DNA. After all, you don’t get Rage Against the Machine without the Inside Out seven-inch Zack de la Rocha helped write before his more famous band formed. Glow On is impactful not only because it still sounds like Turnstile—the big, chugging riffs and high-kick-friendly mosh calls are still here—but also because it makes room for softer R&B-infused sections and a couple Blood Orange collaborations. Unlike other hardcore bands expanding their sound, Turnstile seem wholly unconcerned with proving that hardcore is “art,” as they’re much more interested in proving that bouncy riffs, pogo-inducing breakdowns, and sing-along hooks are a universal language. On “Blackout,” Turnstile lay down an impressive hardcore foundation while front man Brendan Yates gives the most dynamic vocal performances he’s ever committed to record, reaching for high notes he’d never attempted before while still letting loose with primal, powerful screams. The track is built on a hook that wouldn’t feel out of place on terrestrial rock radio, but the way it stays a mosher’s delight even as it veers into more expressly danceable rhythms perfectly encapsulates the album’s charm. Glow On is full of unbridled joy and rampant positivity, which have always been a part of hardcore, even if they’re occasionally overshadowed by (or dismissed because of) its layers of masculine posturing. In contrast with so many other genre-bending hardcore records, Glow On never tries to hide Turnstile’s roots. Instead it invites listeners into the band’s world and gives them a reason to dance.
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Turnstile’s new album Glow On is available from Roadrunner.
