Brendan Yates is the frontman of the biggest thing in hardcore, and he understands that this makes him an entertainer first and foremost. “If it makes you feel alive!/Well, then I'm happy to offer!” he screams on “Blackout,” a single from Turnstile's impressive fourth album Glow On and a summary of the entire Turnstile experience: there are massive power chords, a blindingly bright alt-rock hook, drum machines and a Latin funk breakdown, and it's also about wanting just one moment in the spotlight before you die.
The Baltimore quintet's fusion of genres and belief in its transformative power are equally responsible for frequent comparisons to Rage Against the Machine, 311, Red Hot Chili Peppers and perhaps even Incubus – bands well outside the purview of hardcore . Turnstile is 'alternative rock' in the literal sense of the 90s, where no style of music is incompatible with punk if played with speed, power and genuine respect for its creators. Glow On it's not a crossover hardcore album that seems to transcend the genre, but one that tries to elevate it to its highest prominence.
The band's third LP, 2018 Time & Space, approached temptingly. It was easier to gloss over its few weaknesses and celebrate the fact that a die-hard band could sign to a major label and use its resources to bring in Diplo, Sheer Mag, Will Yip and a backup singer for Ms. Lauryn Hill which covered the Gap Band. for about 30 seconds. But genre-hopping isn't the instant draw it used to be-Time & Space I just couldn't introduce the suburbs to Gang of Four or Public Enemy or George Clinton or dub over rock radio and MTV like RHCP, RATM and 311 did before them. Guest spots and interludes were often played like distractions or diversions, evidence of a band with impressive taste and connections that still define what it means to be Turnstile.
Yates has spent a lot over the past three years getting this very thing right. While Time & Space was an expression of familiar concerns about social media and self-actualization, today Turnstile reflects on the workings of art, the pressures of commerce, and the friends they've lost along the way, particularly Power Trip's Riley Gale. But these serious concerns are enriching and deepening Glow On instead of weighing it down. Yeats can be shirtless and on air 90 percent of the time he's on stage—just recognize the heavy heart he brings to lines like “Too bright to live/Too bright to die!” and “I still can't fill the hole you left behind!” as he prepares another kick around the house.
from our partners at https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/turnstile-glow-on/
