Turnstile
– Glow On
Turnstile’s Glow On is a groundbreaking album that redefines modern hardcore, blending intense energy with a strikingly diverse sonic palette. Released in 2021, the record pushes genre boundaries by incorporating elements of shoegaze, funk, and even dream-pop into their blistering core sound. It’s an exhilarating listen that simultaneously honors their punk roots and ventures boldly into new territory.

What sets Glow On apart is its fearless experimentation, marrying soaring melodies and atmospheric textures with the raw power of hardcore. The production is sharp and expansive, allowing the band’s innovative instrumentation and dynamic shifts to shine. Vocals are both commanding and emotive, conveying introspective themes with a sense of urgency and authenticity.
This album represents a leap forward not just for Turnstile, but for the hardcore genre as a whole, demonstrating its capacity for evolution and reinvention. With Glow On, Turnstile delivers an album that is both profoundly ambitious and undeniably infectious, making it a landmark in contemporary rock.
Choice Tracks
MYSTERY
Barely two minutes, but it punches holes in the ceiling. A declaration. Guitars shimmer without losing bite. It’s an intro, an invitation, and a flare shot into the night.
BLACKOUT
This one shuffles into your chest cavity and refuses to leave. The riff is as blunt as it is hypnotic, and the chorus claws at something just out of reach. A perfect storm of rage and yearning.
UNDERWATER BOI
A curveball. Floating, woozy, strangely beautiful. It drips with reverb and restraint, like Fugazi dropped into a dreamscape. Proof that the band knows when to swing and when to drift.
HOLIDAY
Marches forward with righteous swing. The groove alone is worth repeat listens, but it’s the vocals that make it breathe—half scream, half shout-from-the-rooftop manifesto.
NEW HEART DESIGN
It stomps. Then it sings. Then it stomps again. Duality isn’t the point—release is. A song about being broken open and finding yourself still ticking, still kicking.
Glow On is a bright, brutal burst of hardcore joy—chaotic, beautiful, and oddly tender. Turnstile doesn’t just bend genre lines; they run through them barefoot, screaming, with a heart full of melody and fists full of truth.
Turnstile grabs hardcore by the collar, throws it into a cotton candy-colored hurricane, and dares it to dance. But this isn’t genre demolition. It’s a full-body exorcism with glitter in its teeth. Every track hits like someone throwing open a locked window and yelling into the void just to hear the echo.
There’s joy here, but it’s wired to desperation. These songs don’t just move—they erupt, scatter, and somehow reassemble midair. Brendan Yates doesn’t deliver verses so much as detonate them, and the rest of the band follows like a gang of punk-rock telepaths. Guitars crash and bloom, drums swerve like they’re dodging traffic, and somehow synths sneak in without feeling like tourists. It’s emotional whiplash that feels exactly right.
But don’t mistake this record’s color for softness. Underneath the bright glaze are songs about isolation, defiance, forgiveness, and the hollow parts of growing up. Turnstile never drowns in the noise—they steer through it like it’s the only way forward. It’s as if they cracked themselves open just to see what the light would do on the inside. Turns out, it makes one hell of a sound.