After the release of Time & Space Ive been keenly awaiting another album from this keen Hardcore outfit. This blitz of an EP has got me buzzing now! Baltimore outfit Turnstile give an aged sound renewed youthful excitement, frothing with energy and kicking in subtle influences to character their sound and start apart in the crowd.
Holiday kicks things of with its soft murmuring baseline bursting into a riot of sharp power chord strumming. Its somewhat predictable for this group yet lands like a riot, the hooks of Brendan Yates reeling it in, "Now its a holiday", "I can never feel the cold", "I can sail with no direction". There is so much exuberance being exhorted, exactly what he does best. In the opening and throughout the use of an electronic 808 akin drum kit adds a little bark to the rhythm section. Subtle, yet a texture that gives the music a little of that extra character they bring to many of their Hardcore songs.
No Surprise serves as a dreamy soulful interlude to abridge its Grunge number Mystery, fitted out with a brief noisy solo and curious spacey synths in its intro and outro, that later sounding like a space ship taking off. Title track TLC takes the tone back to the bands roots with a strictly fast, hard Hardcore sound with fiery vocals and gang shouts too. Its mid section brings in electronic toms as the music pivots, an odd choice that once again musters a little oddity. It gets explored again as the track devolves swiftly with an experimental vocal cut to end the brief eight minutes of music.
Turnstile is in a groove, writing keen songs that have the power and charisma of what came before. The use of alternate percussive aesthetics and moments of electronic and vocal experimentation are peculiar on analysis yet to just enjoy the music, it works and flows effortlessly. Something in the temperament of this group just lets it all work. If these are the "weaker" tracks left out from an up and coming album then we are in for a treat! We are probably in for a treat either way...
Rating: 3/10