Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH
Hardcore Punk – Released June 6, 2025 – 14 songs, 45 mins
REID
So much has changed for Turnstile since the release of GLOW ON. The critically acclaimed 2021 album saw the Baltimore-based group ascend from a band firmly nestled in the US punk rock scene to international stardom. They road the wave for years with their high-energy live performance becoming an annual fixture at world-class festivals. Their fan base and allure grew infinitely with these opportunities. With all this growth bore expectation. GLOW ON was now their measuring stick and as they began the roll out of their new record four years later, could they live up to it?
In a lot of ways, Turnstile picked up where they left off on NEVER ENOUGH. And after hitting the proverbial jackpot, can you really blame them? Honestly, as one of the thousands that became a fan, I’m glad they didn’t. That blend of hardcore punk tempered with dreamy synth and Yates’ seemingly effortless vocal adaptation was fresh and there was a lot more gold to extract before relocating the mine site. The first trio of singles made it clear they were leaning into that past success with the titular track and the dual release of SEEIN’ STARS and BIRDS. SOLE has a very similar structure to ENDLESS and MAGIC MAN could double as this album’s ALIEN LOVE CALL. Suffice to say you won’t be disappointed if you fell in love with this sound.
Luckily the band doesn’t let this get in the way of their own artistic growth and progression as NEVER ENOUGH has plenty of new elements sprinkled throughout the tracklist. The most glaring is the increase in time devoted to dialled back, ethereal reflection. In an interview with Lawrence Burney from Pitchfork, Yates said ‘There’s this kind of outro on [‘Never Enough’] that’s probably obnoxiously long to a listener that maybe just wants to get in and out. But for us, it was very intentional. It felt really important to sit in that moment. And the amount of space you take up is equally as important as the space that you sit back on.’ This sentiment is carried further in SUNSHOWER, which boasts the most hardcore punk on the album for a minute and a half only to end with over two minutes of spacey synth and flute. CEILING acts similarly as an interlude and the album’s closer, MAGIC MAN, is another three-minute dreamworld. On LOOK OUT FOR ME, they flex their range with the longest song in their discography. It evolves from their signature hard-hitting rock with one of the more memorable riffs on the record, to a house-inspired groove to close out. The preconceived optics on this are of both joy and hilarity as I envision a live performance beginning in the most pit only to have you dancing with your sweaty companions minutes later - in the same song! The band also explored the features route adding Paramore’s Hayley Williams on backing vocals on SEEIN’ STARS, as well Leland Whitty from BadBadNotGood on saxophone and Kae Murphy on trumpet on DREAMING (to name a few).
So if GLOW ON was so incredible and the band took that sound and added to it, why doesn’t it rate as high? Pace and depth. GLOW ON is thirty-five minutes of no-skip brilliance. The guitar riffs never miss, hiting hard consistently and the synth tracks are timed and positioned perfectly. NEVER ENOUGH’s forty-five minute runtime has a few filler tracks that lack that real punch you’re looking for. (I wonder how much of this can be attributed to the parting of founding guitarist, Brady Ebert, in 2022.) This paired with the extended time given to the peaceful, soothing soundscapes and you have an album that’s less impactful and cohesive overall. I’m more inclined to return to my favourite singles than listen in its entirety.
The summer of Turnstile is here as the band returns to form with their signature punk rock sound on NEVER ENOUGH. While it may not reach the heights of its predecessor, it’s an impressive follow-up packed with plenty of songs to add to a growing catalog and incredible live set.
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
Favourite Song: BIRDS
ROZ
Back in 2021, dear friend of the blog Jack Thomspon put the three TSR boys onto a band by the name of Turnstile. Along with the review that we eventually wrote and the podcast episode we all gushed over it on, the three of us also ventured to see the band not once, but twice; 2023’s Coachella festival and 2024’s Primavera Sound festival. Vinyl’s were purchased, mosh pits were moshed in – needless to say, Turnstile became a large part of Too Sweet Reviews binding structure through shared enjoyment and raw experiences. Four years separated from the band’s acclaimed third studio album GLOW ON, we now turn our heads (with much anticipation) towards the band’s fourth release: NEVER ENOUGH. No pressure, no – none whatsoever.
As a music lover first, Turnstile was special for the fact that they turned my attention to the hardcore punk genre as a whole, a genre that you would otherwise never find in any playlist or record shelf that I own. The band’s own personal style made this particular soundscape not only approachable and digestible to me, but to a grander stage of music listeners throughout the world. The results are tangible – Turnstile has been non-stop touring to sold out venues, they’ve been nominated for Grammy’s, and they’ve even performed on mainstream television shows. Melodic hardcore? Hardcore pop? Some diehards are no doubt scoffing at this type of evolution that the band has been undergoing, but I for one applaud it. The word “pop” can feel like a dirty word as you go deeper into the caverns of sub-genre madness, but this band is living proof that pop does not deserve any sort of negative connotation – no matter what the purists say.
With such high regard for the band and with the knowledge that the band had parted ways with their guitarist Brady Ebert after the release of GLOW ON (retraining order and all, oh to be a fly on that wall), I went into this experience with gritted teeth. It’s not unheard of for a band to completely fall apart at the seams when a member leaves, since at the end of the day you don’t really know how much weight that individual could have been carrying or how much of their creative vision was imprinted on the music itself. Almost instantly, I felt a wave of relief; the band’s GLOW ON-era sound shined as brightly in 2025 as it did in 2021. SOLE starts this off with its heavy hardcore sound, simplistic lyricism and sustained vocalizations clearly with the live performance in mind. DREAMING’s offbeat snare patterns remind me fondly of DON’T PLAY, and the inclusion of a brass horn accentuated the track tremendously. BIRDS rising sweeps combined with heavy drum and guitar arrangements seem primed to start a mosh pit at any show where the band dares unleash it, while SLOWDIVE’s heavy chugging guitar and drum performance really stood out among a list of great high energy tracks.
NEVER ENOUGH separated itself from its predecessor by injecting a more synthetic, ethereal quality to the remaining tracks. The titular track’s warm synth introduction was the perfect lead up into Yate’s washed out vocal; his voice pushed way back into the mix and treated with an abundance of reverb, making it more of an otherworldly instrument in its own right rather than strictly being a vessel for lyricism. I CARE encompassed the washed-out dream-like aesthetic even more so. LIGHT DESIGN, carried by powerful square wave synth stabs that punch right through the speakers, also highlighted the magnificent talents of guitarist Pat McCrory, as he powers up the melody of the track at the very end to have it all come to an exciting close. Familiar face Blood Orange is credited across multiple tracks – a quality addition and a warm echo from their collaborations in the past. LOOK OUT FOR ME can only be described as a nuclear explosion worth of sound (literally Yates crying out “boom” at the 29 second mark adds to this), and even includes a soft, lingering fallout afterwards.This ambient softness can be felt all the way through CEILING, SEEIN STARS and MAGIC MAN, with the latter closing the show.
My major criticism of this album would be the fleeting moments where it seemed as though this newer, hybrid style felt more-or-less ‘tacked’ onto the tail end of otherwise hardcore punk arrangements (SUNSHOWER being the biggest offender for this with its drawn out flute solo). Overall, however, the adjustment in their sound is pulled off well (not perfect, but well), as they incorporate new soundscapes to already familiar tones rather than going for a complete overhaul. If GLOW ON was the rocket, then NEVER ENOUGH is surely the secondary booster that gets them to the top of the world. Turnstile seems to be everywhere you look, from the festival circuit all the way to the late night talk show circuit. Even with this constant upward trajectory that the band seems to be on, they still find the time to hone and develop their signature sound in a way that feels both natural and authentic.
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
Favourite Song: LOOK OUT FOR ME
LUNDI
Before ever pressing play on this week’s review, Turnstile’s Never Enough, I prepared myself to fully understand that topping, meeting, or hell even coming close to Glow On was a near impossible task. Conditioninng my brain not to be let down in that regard was honestly pretty easy and hugely important. What I didn’t expect was a nagging thought on if I’d prefer a second helping of the decades best punk rock album or did I want to see the band evolve into something new. Despite four singles that hinted at the former, Turnstile ultimately pulled the bait and switch dropping an album that solidifies the bands modern musical structuring while building on everything that has come before.
No matter how confident Turnstile were when signing off on the final recording of Glow On, their since extreme ascent into mainstream popularity could not have been anywhere near their purview. But as they say, timing is everything. Armed with a community of fans that treat each other like family, Turnstile might just be the poster child for erupting the modern rock scene that’s been bubbling at the surface for some time. In 2021 few knew the band, myself included, in 2025 they’re closing out festivals, sound tracking sports broadcasts, getting numerous Grammy nods, and cracking charts that no other rock band can sniff. Hell I’ve even seen my friends that only listen to radio share Turnstile songs on social media. It’s safe to say the band are now big time and it honestly couldn’t have happened to a better group of individuals. They inspire, motivate and feel wholesome, operating as a direct conduit with their fans through every moment. Equal parts admiration and respect, both received and given.
The musical output Never Enough generates speaks for itself. Kick the doors down and blow the roof off definitely still applies. Hardcore punk drapes itself in indie synths while lead singer Brendan Yates peppers the listener with a barrage of hooks that would make a pop star jealous. The album sees the band depart further from their original hardcore roots yet the punk movement they built themselves on is still the leading sonic in their varied toolset, but they’ve further integrated indie and pop soundscapes to each of their songs. Yates maintains the lead as a spirted front man whose wide range vocal and showmanship make for a perfect pair at center stage, but it’s his formidable bandmates that set the Baltimore punk outfit apart. Duelling guitars from fresh lead Pat McCroy and newly minted rhythm guitarist Meg Mills emit endless distortion and amplification from the speakers generating an unmistakeable sound and energy that’s been a Turnstile trademark since inception. Not to be outdone Daniel Fang operates as second coming of Travis Barker and paired with Franz Lyons they ensure the band never miss a single beat. Despite some personnel turnover there’s still significant chemistry amongst the group which greatly inhibits their ability to grow record to record.
Never Enough ultimately finds the band trying new things while remaining true to their origins. Even if everything they attempt doesn’t quite work and the execution can be a tad messy, the artistic effort and desire to grow does not go unnoticed. Utilization of preludes and interludes, vocal modulators, integration of brass and wind instrumentation along with traditional pianos all bring new wrinkles to the forefront. Inclusion of high profile feature artists Hayley Williams and Faye Webster doesn’t hurt the case either. All in all, Never Enough creates its own unique record identity.
Now make no mistake this album is a step back in direct comparison with its predecessor. While surely the off the stage life is easier the guitar work noticeably lacks the bite and showmanship that Brady Ebert brought, some of Yates’ writing borders on criminally cliche and the closing duo of tracks Time is Happening and Magic Man miss the landing by a decent margin. Still the album does rip and achieves everything the band hoped for. Turnstile yet again transform and expand the understanding of what punk rock is and can be.
Never Enough succeeds despite a near impossible set of expectations to live up to, serving as yet another excellent entry in Turnstile’s blossoming discography and more importantly a building block for a band that is still finding footing in the mainstream. Can’t help but believe their best is still yet to come.
Overall Rating : 8.0/10
Favourite Song: Birds