In 2021, Turnstile burst through the mainstream and became one of the biggest rock bands around. Their sound was a mix of hardcore punk, electronica, and hip-hop elements all thrown together in a very tasty stew. A long four years later and one guitarist/songwriter down, the band has returned with their new album amid mixed results. The album became their first to hit the Top Ten on the Billboard 200 but for a diehard such as myself, the record leaves a bit to be desired.
Kicking off with the title track, the band roar back to life slowly at first as the song begins its ascent, but when the band find their groove and kick in with Daniel Fang’s drumming and the guitars of Pat McCrory, they show they are still super powerful. At the same time, this also shows one of the big problems with the album. On their previous discs, the band would have interludes of electronic ambience to add to the overall flow of the record. Now they tack those onto the end of songs and weigh them down. The title track is a nice even three minutes, but then adds another 1:40 worth of ambience that adds nothing to the song or the overall album.
Songs like “Sole,” “Dull” and “Light Design” go nowhere and the better songs like “I Care” and “Seein’ Stars,” while good, don’t have the same amount of energy that songs like “Mystery,” “TLC” or “Holiday” had previously. Is this a new, less energized Turnstile? Maybe, and I wasn’t impressed.
The truly standout songs like “Birds” and “Sunshower” are songs that really feel like Turnstile of old. It’s been rumored online that former guitarist Brady Ebert, who was dismissed under mysterious circumstances in 2021, was the one responsible for the good riffs and the overall hardcore vibe of the band. Now that he’s gone, the vibe has mellowed out a bit too much and the music isn’t as interesting. Prime example is “Look Out for Me,” which gives off Police vibes of all things; in interviews the band said they’ve written their longest song at almost seven minutes. Not technically true; the song itself is about three and a half minutes while the rest is all, you guessed it, electronic ambience! The first half of the song is good, even a highlight, but the other half does nothing and drags the overall feel of the record down. At 46 minutes, this album could’ve been cut down by at least six minutes. Bassist Franz doesn’t even get a solo spot as on previous discs, and his voice is one of the band’s best assets.
After “Birds,” the album fades out with a trio of inconsequential songs that don’t do much of anything. Whether this was the band’s attempt to not be branded as “just a hardcore band” or “just a rock band,” this is a really wide swing for the fence that doesn’t succeed. Maybe they just tried too hard and forgot what it was that made them so good and different in the first place. Ultimately, from my perspective, this is one of the year’s most disappointing records.
