It's an alternative rock band that sometimes plays songs with hardcore elements. And, above all, it's a band that's reaching places where no band with roots in hardcore punk had dared to go. Since "Glow On," their previous album, they've been opening up hardcore to a new audience, and that's magnificent.
While they've repeated the formula from "Glow On," I can sense an evolution on "Never Enough."
The entire album seems to exist in a bubble: at times, heavy, groove-filled riffs; at others, dreamlike soundscapes, with soft, electronic rhythms that glide like a caress.
"Dreaming" caught my attention because of its use of reggaeton beats with distorted guitars in the background. A device already used a few times in rock, and something I haven't heard since Knocked Loose and Poppy's song "Suffocate."
Throughout the album, they maintain that ethereal and explosive atmosphere that's so characteristic of them, where Brendan Yates' resonant voice intertwines with multi-textured guitars.
What I always applaud about Turnstile is their ability to fearlessly fuse styles: there's psychedelic rock, funk, dream pop, electronica, and even nods to pop punk and disco. The result is a hybrid sound that defies labels and keeps you hooked throughout the journey.
Now for the critique: one detail I personally don't like about "Never Enough" is that several of its best songs unnecessarily dissolve into overly long, ambient endings. It's fine for a couple of tracks, but for seven? It's as if they're constantly trying to remind you how eclectic their tastes are. Overall, I was perhaps hoping for a bolder twist, one that would distance itself from "Glow On," but it didn't happen.
Looking back, we see that Turnstile has achieved something enormous with "Never Enough." It's an affirmation of identity and a firm step toward a future they are building themselves, without following anyone's roadmap.
Final score: ★★★★✩
