Turnstile – ‘Never Enough’ review: heartfelt hardcore poptimism

Formed in Baltimore’s hardcore scene in 2010, Turnstile’s interest in colouring outside the genre’s lines paid off when 2021’s ‘Glow On’ – featuring a go-go breakdown and a R&B track with Blood Orange – made them Grammy-nominated international rock stars. Their bright, eccentric new album ‘Never Enough’ doubles down on those experiments while furthering their unique, pop-facing take on hardcore.

Hardcore remains its lynchpin: the album rarely strays too far from a chunky, overdriven guitar, or one of vocalist Brendan Yates’ throat-splitting yells. Some moments are faithful nods back to their early work, like ‘Sole’ and ‘Birds’, conjuring images of a sweaty small-venue show like the one pictured on the cover of 2011’s ‘Pressure To Succeed’.

For the most part, though, ‘Never Enough’ is distinguished by aesthetic left-turns and genre-hopping. ‘I Care’ is a kitschy dream-pop song, featuring hand-claps and flanged guitars, while ‘Seein’ Stars’ is a funk-rock track in the vein of The Police. There are some innovative structural shifts, as in the nearly-7-minute-long ‘Look Out For Me’: progressing through punchy hardcore, a woozy ambient section sampling TV drama The Wire, then an electronic outro nodding to Baltimore club, each section presents a tribute to their city.

This spirit of experimentation is aided by a varied cast of collaborators: the horn flourishes on ‘Dreaming’ are performed by members of BADBADNOTGOOD, while the backing vocals on ‘Seein’ Stars’ are contributed by Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. Elsewhere, these guests help songs shape-shift completely. Shabaka Hutchings’ flute solo in ‘Sunshower’ turns this hardcore track into something resembling Andre 3000’s ‘New Blue Sun’. A.G. Cook warps alt-rock song ‘Dull’ into a morass of glitching vocals and squirrelly electronics.

Despite this, ‘Never Enough’ is remarkably coherent. That’s helped by the bridging power of Yates’ vocal, gritty enough to fit the hardcore end but tonally appealing enough to sell the poppier moments. While the lyrics suggest complex feelings amid Turnstile’s post-‘Glow On’ success – “this is where I wanna be, but I can’t feel a fucking thing,” he howls on ‘Sunshower’ – the constant assuredness of Yates’ delivery helps anchor everything else.

But what really glues ‘Never Enough’ together is its poptimist mindset. Combining a sentimental regard for various shades of rock with a focus on big, bright melodies (think of those sparkly synths backing the second pre-chorus vocal in the title track), and a free-wheeling approach to musical referents, the album constantly reaches out to the pop world: exploring how hardcore might form the basis for something technicolour, playful and accessible. That attitude towards the genre, as capable of mass appeal and ripe for experimentation, is what powers this excellent album.

Details

• Release date: June 6, 2025
• Record label: Roadrunner