GLOW ON

The purists may wrinkle their noses at this one, but as somebody who's been in their fair share of hardcore pits I fucking love this album. Turnstile always had a knack for energetic, upbeat hardcore with clean-cut mixes, but this LP took all those tendencies and turned them to 11. Crystal clear production allows each instrumental to shine through while maintaining their ragged edges, the progressions are laser-targeted and memorable, and Yates' ecstatic vocals brim with fury and wonder at a moment's notice while he belts some actually memorable lyrics. Is it wholly hardcore? No, but in stepping outside the genre's rigid definitions while keeping its instrumental DNA, this LP dares to ask: can hardcore be fun? The answer is a resounding fucking hell yeah, and I think we're all the better for it. Hard to think of a better 5-song run this decade than the front half of this album, and honestly every track hits. Modern classic for me and will definitely be in contention for album of the decade in a few years time. Exceptional add to the list!

Such an amazing album. This is the album that rekindled my enjoyment of hard music. Tunes with energy and an ear for melody...such a great combo. Also an A++ live show. Look forward to seeing what they do in the future! 5/5

Interesting and unique take on hard rock in this album - lots of other genres come into play throughout that keep this really interesting. Songs like UNDERWATER BOI feint one way sounding like the opening of some Indy pop song and then throw in the chugging guitars. I love how these guys play with genres. Pretty clever and a unique addition to the list. Turnstile seems to be injecting some lighthearted fun into a heavy genre coming up with something quite enjoyable.

Somebody recommended Turnstile to me a while back I think. Good energy, musically interesting. Hard rock +

Yeah this is good modern hardcore music, not to my taste these days but deserves to be on the list and teenage me would love this.

I saw these guys at Rock en Seine in 2023 and I thought it was fine. They just played here to a sold out crowd and I feel like I'm missing something. The music is perfectly fine but just doesn't do anything that I haven't really heard before. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Glow On is a nice punk rock album by Turnstile. Nothing wrong with compositions or performance, but it sounds like so many punkrock albums anno 2021. Best songs are "Mystery", "Holiday" and "Wild Wrld".

Very energetic. This kind of hardcore I do like a lot

Rating: 10/10

Yep, Turnstile sure made waves with this album in 2021 -- here showcasing their own streamlined, airy and genre-defying rendition of the sort of modern hardcore punk that was far from the spotlight two decades earlier (Comeback Kid, Have Heart, Verse...), helped along by a producer who mostly had hip hop and other urban music names in his résumé, oddly enough. The result is very good, even excellent on the first side of the record, thanks to fun and effective cuts such as "Mystery", "Blackout", "Underwater Boi" or "Holiday". The world was still reeling from the COVID crisis in 2021, and lots of music listeners just needed some "good clean fun" in their lives (to use the name of another old "positive-thinking" hxc band from the noughts that would be even more obscure for general audiences, lol). It was that moment in music history where the communal experience of a hardcore show had significantly gained some meaning. Right place, right time. I'm not gonna lie, given what I already knew about the genre, Turnstile still made me raise an eyebrow quite a few times when I first got to know them (it was through their previous LP *Time and Space*). Also, they have a tendency to rip off other bands from the past: on *Glow On*, for instance, Turnstile indeed rips off the introductory bassline of Dead Kennedys' "Holiday In Cambodia" for... "Holiday", of course! Or they borrow from Sly And The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" for the vocal hook on the bridge of the -- absolutely bonkers -- "T.L.C."... As the sly foxes that they are, they just change enough notes or details to avoid being sued, I imagine. Oh, they're quite overt about the whole thing, thanks to obvious clues here and there (for those who have a long enough memory span, at least). Yet I still want to tell them I can see them pillaging all sorts of (good) stuff out there... That being said, it wouldn't make much sense for me to play the part of a gatekeeper here. Turnstile might not be the most original songwriters in the genre, but they have revitalized the latter, and you can only praise them for doing that in ways that still feel earnest and vital. The couple of stylistic U-turns towards electronic / urban music found in *Glow On* (for instance on "Underwater Boi", or "Alien Call Love", featuring Blood Orange) are well-executed. Those stylistic U-turns are -- quite logically -- even more pronounced on some highlights of *Never Enough*, the album the American band released last year -- unfortunately a notch less impactful as a whole, but still great enough. And Brendan Yates is a very distinctive vocal performer, which is absolutely pivotal for this hardcore style. I just can't bring myself to give this record full marks because the dynamics on the second half of this LP are not as impressive as the ones on its first side (even though "Lonely Dezires" is an excellent closer, tight and driven). One thing's for sure, however -- I'm ready to include "Glow On" in my own list of 1001 "essential" albums... on the condition that four or five other "modern hardcore punk" albums from the 21st century are represented there as well. After all, I think there's enough room in my list so that half a dozen albums in that style and era can "glow on" there. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 4.5) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 67 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 85 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 163 ---- Emile... Je viens de lire ta dernière réponse. Je vais essayer de trouver le temps de rédiger la mienne bientôt. D'ici-là, ben bonne année!

Hardcore punk, melodic hardcore, alternative rock. Está bien. Un 4, venga.

Rock, but pretty chilled for the most part. A band I hadn't heard of, who I quite liked and will look out for going forward. Not an instant hit with me, but I gave it a few more listens and really enjoyed it.

excellent album

One of my favourite discoveries in recent years.

My friend who loves meta and hardcore music showed me this band a few years as something that would be palatable for one that can’t handle the hardest of core. I found them to be pretty entertaining. Much more rhythm than most hard rock bands. But that may be the modern stylings that have impact on their style. Overall a solid modern hard rock album with added flair. 7.2/10

A nice hard rock album that I didn't mind and wouldn't turn off if someone put it on, but also will never ever listen to again.

Good fun

Up my alley but somehow not the standout I'd expect with it being added to the list.

Decent

Good record.

knew TLC 4 3

Nothing against this but it didn't really sink in or make an impression. Rock.

It was ok. Not something I would listen to again.

En okej platta. Finns ett och annat spår som är bra.

Didn't enjoy this at all. Generic hard rock. 2 stars.

Ugh, fake "hardcore." No thanks.

I would kinda hope that by 2021 bands could have progressed to something more interesting that tired rehashes of rock cliches. It's not bad, just bland and I would like someone to point out what exactly is special about it?