Turnstile - Glow On (2021) Hi-Res

The Baltimore band’s spectacular fourth record is all groove, riffs, and passion. It is not a crossover hardcore album that looks to transcend the genre, but one that tries to elevate it to its highest visibility.

Brendan Yates is the frontman of the biggest thing in hardcore and he understands that makes him an entertainer first. “If it makes you feel alive!/Well, then I’m happy to provide!” he screams on “Blackout,” a single from Turnstile’s spectacular fourth album Glow On and a synopsis of the entire Turnstile experience: there’s chunky power chords, a blindingly bright alt-rock hook, drum machines, and a Latin funk breakdown, and also it’s about wanting just one moment in the spotlight before you die.

The Baltimore quintet’s genre fusion and their belief in its transformative power are equally responsible for frequent comparisons to Rage Against the Machine, 311, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and maybe even Incubus—bands far outside the purview of hardcore. Turnstile are “alternative rock” by the literal, ’90s definition where no style of music is incompatible with punk if it’s played with speed, force and a genuine respect for its originators. Glow On is not a crossover hardcore album that looks to transcend the genre, but one that tries to elevate it to its highest visibility.

The band’s third LP, 2018’s Time & Space, came tantalizingly close. It was easier to just shrug off its few shortcomings and celebrate the fact that a hardcore band could sign to a major label and use their resources to bring in Diplo, Sheer Mag, Will Yip, and a Ms Lauryn Hill backup singer covering the Gap Band for about 30 seconds. But genre-hopping ain’t the instantaneous draw it used to be—Time & Space simply couldn’t introduce the suburbs to Gang of Four or Public Enemy or George Clinton or dub through rock radio and MTV like RHCP, RATM, and 311 did before them. The guest spots and interludes often played out like distractions or diversions, proof of a band with impressive taste and connections still sorting out what it meant to be Turnstile.