Glow On
Glow On is the third studio album by the American rock band Turnstile, released on August 27, 2021, via Roadrunner Records. It is the band's last album to feature founding guitarist Brady Ebert, who departed from the band in August 2022.
The album was recorded in summer 2020 at Phantom Studios in Gallatin, Tennessee. It was recorded by American producer Mike Elizondo, and marks as the band's first release to include a featured artist with a guest appearance from British singer/songwriter and producer Blood Orange.
Glow On was preceded by the band's fifth EP, Turnstile Love Connection, released June 27, 2021, which previewed four songs from the album set to an accompanying short film directed by frontman and lead vocalist, Yates. The follow-up singles, "Alien Love Call" featuring Blood Orange, "Blackout" and "Fly Again" were released July and August 2021 respectively.
Glow On sold 15,600 album-equivalent units in its first week to debut at number 30 on the US Billboard 200, becoming the band's first album to chart there, and was praised by music critics, and named the best album of 2021 by Spin and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Tracks "Holiday" and "Blackout" earned nominations at the 65th Grammy Awards.
Composition
Glow On has been praised for making hardcore "genre-fluid" and showing "just how innovative could become". PopMatters writer Ethan Stewart credited the album as being forefront in a wave of 2020s hardcore bands that built upon the 1990s alternative metal-meets-New York-style hardcore style of Snapcase or Crown of Thornz, but additionally incorporated experimental influences such as pop and funk music. Metal Hammer credited the album as expanding 1990s melodic hardcore. To balance out the hardcore sounds, they also dig into "melodic" alt-rock songs. Alternative pop, grunge, indie rock, post-punk, psychedelia, rap rock, R&B, shoegazing and soul sounds also appear throughout. Chris Richards of The Washington Post noted that the album's sound could be compared to that of Jane's Addiction.Glow On is also noted for its "cleanly-produced" takes on pop music. A "newly-polished" dream pop style shows as well, yielding a sound for the album that is cast in "overt hues of pink".
"Don't Play" mixes samba into punk rock while "No Surprise" is "hazy" emo pop. With its drums, cowbells and layered handclaps, "Dance-Off" journeys into "heavy" funk.
Critical reception
Glow On received praise from music critics. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 92 out of 100, based on thirteen reviews.Laviea Thomas for Clash called it "a riveting return" for the quintet. Australian Guitar Magazine called the album "a true masterclass in the art of heavy music", with writer Matt Doria adding, "the sheer depth and dynamism of its musicality cannot be understated, nor Turnstile’s passion in sculpting it". Paste referred to its appeal, writing, "GLOW ON isn’t just one of the best hardcore albums of the year; it’s one of the best albums of the year in general." Reviewing the album for AllMusic, James Christopher Monger described it as both "vital and respective" and claimed it to be "a violent, late-summer storm" that "pummels the power grid but mercifully leaves the lights on".
Accolades
Year-end lists
A "—" denotes the publication's list is in no particular order, and Glow On did not rank numerically.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank | |
| AllMusic | US | AllMusic Best of 2021 | — | |
| BBC | UK | The 21 Best Albums of 2021 | 21 | |
| Billboard | US | The 50 Best Albums of 2021: Staff List | 27 | |
| Consequence | US | Top 50 Albums of 2021 | 4 | |
| Consequence | US | Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Albums of 2021 | 3 | |
| Crack Magazine | UK | The Top 50 Albums of the Year | 17 | |
| The Economist | UK | The best albums of 2021 | — | |
| Esquire | US | The Best Albums of 2021 | — | |
| Exclaim! | CA | Exclaim!s 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 17 | |
| The Fader | US | The 50 best albums of 2021 | 14 | |
| The Guardian | UK | The 50 best albums of 2021 | 18 | |
| Les Inrockuptibles | FR | Carole Boinet's Top 10 Albums of 2021 | 10 | |
| Les Inrockuptibles | FR | Cyril Camu's Top 10 Albums of 2021 | 2 | |
| Les Inrockuptibles | FR | Théo Dubreuil's Top 10 Albums of 2021 | 2 | |
| Kerrang! | UK | The 50 best albums of 2021 | 4 | |
| Loudwire | US | The 45 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 2021 | 3 | |
| Loudwire | US | The Best Hard Rock Album of Each Year Since 1970 | 1 | |
| Men's Health | US | The 15 Best Albums of 2021 | 3 | |
| NME | UK | The 50 best albums of 2021 | 9 | |
| NPR | US | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 24 | |
| Paste | US | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 2 | |
| Pitchfork | US | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 6 | |
| Pitchfork | US | The 31 Best Rock Albums of 2021 | — | |
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | US | The 10 best albums of 2021 | 1 | |
| PopMatters | US | The 75 Best Albums of 2021 | 56 | |
| The Quietus | UK | Quietus Albums Of The Year 2021 | 93 | |
| Revolver | US | 25 Best Albums of 2021 | 3 | |
| The Ringer | US | The Best Albums of 2021 | 3 | |
| Rolling Stone | US | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 8 | |
| Spin | US | The 30 Best Albums of 2021 | 1 | |
| Uproxx | US | The Best Albums Of 2021 | — | |
| The Washington Post | US | Best music of 2021 | 4 |
Track listing
Notes- All tracks are stylized in all caps.
Personnel
Turnstile
- Brendan Yates – vocals, co-production, art direction
- Franz Lyons – bass, vocals
- Brady Ebert – guitar
- Pat McCrory – guitar
- Daniel Fang – drums
- Dev Hynes – vocals, additional vocals
- Julien Baker – additional vocals
- Mike Elizondo – production, drum programming synthesizer
- Adam Hawkins – mixing
- Lawson White – engineering
- Erica Block – assistant engineering
- Zachary Stokes – assistant engineering
- Chris Gehringer – mastering
- Alexis Jamet – cover, design
- Dewey Saunders – art direction
- Jimmy Fontaine – band photos
Charts