Glow On

Glow On
Studio album by Turnstile
Released	August 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
Recorded	July–August 2020
Studio	Phantom Studios (Gallatin, Tennessee)
Genre	Hardcore punk melodic hardcore punk rock alternative rock alternative metal post-hardcore
Length	34:51
Label	Roadrunner
Producer	Mike Elizondo
Turnstile chronology
Time & Space (2018) Glow On (2021)
Singles from Glow On
"Mystery" Released: May 26, 2021 "Alien Love Call" Released: July 14, 2021 "Blackout" Released: July 28, 2021 "Fly Again" Released: August 11, 2021 "Holiday" Released: 2022

Glow On (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by the American hardcore punk 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.^[1]

The album was recorded in summer 2020^[2] at Phantom Studios in Gallatin, Tennessee.^[3][4] 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,^[5] released June 27, 2021, which previewed four songs (including lead single, "Mystery") 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,^[6] "Blackout"^[7] and "Fly Again"^[8] 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,^[9] 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 [the genre] could become".^[10][11] It and the quintet have been seen for expanding 1990s melodic hardcore.^[12] To balance out the hardcore sounds, they also dig into "melodic" alt-rock songs.^[13] Alternative pop, grunge, indie rock, post-punk, psychedelia, rap rock, R&B, shoegazing and soul sounds also appear throughout.^[13][14][15] Chris Richards of The Washington Post noted that the album's sound could be compared to that of Jane's Addiction.^[16]

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".^[17]

"Don't Play" mixes samba into punk rock while "No Surprise" is "hazy" emo pop.^[18] With its drums, cowbells and layered handclaps, "Dance-Off" journeys into "heavy" funk.^[19]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.5/10[20]
Metacritic	92/100[21]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	8/10[22]
Consequence	A−[13]
DIY	[10]
Exclaim!	7/10[11]
Kerrang!	5/5[23]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[18]
NME	[24]
Paste	8.4/10[25]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[19]
Under the Radar	8.5/10[26]

Glow On received praise from music critics. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 92 out of 100, based on thirteen reviews.^[21]

Laviea Thomas for Clash called it "a riveting return" for the quintet.^[22] 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".^[27] 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."^[25] 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".^[28]

Accolades

Year-end lists

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

A "—" denotes the publication's list is in no particular order, and Glow On did not rank numerically.

Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
AllMusic	US	AllMusic Best of 2021	—	[29]
BBC	UK	The 21 Best Albums of 2021	21	[30]
Billboard	US	The 50 Best Albums of 2021: Staff List	27	[31]
Consequence	US	Top 50 Albums of 2021	4	[32]
		Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Albums of 2021	3	[33]
Crack Magazine	UK	The Top 50 Albums of the Year	17	[34]
The Economist	UK	The best albums of 2021	—	[35]
Esquire	US	The Best Albums of 2021	—	[36]
Exclaim!	CA	Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2021	17	[37]
The Fader	US	The 50 best albums of 2021	14	[38]
The Guardian	UK	The 50 best albums of 2021	18	[39]
Les Inrockuptibles	FR	Carole Boinet's Top 10 Albums of 2021	10	[40]
		Cyril Camu's Top 10 Albums of 2021	2
		Théo Dubreuil's Top 10 Albums of 2021	2
Kerrang!	UK	The 50 best albums of 2021	4	[41]
Loudwire	US	The 45 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 2021	3	[42]
Men's Health	US	The 15 Best Albums of 2021	3	[43]
NME	UK	The 50 best albums of 2021	9	[44]
NPR	US	The 50 Best Albums of 2021	24	[45]
Paste	US	The 50 Best Albums of 2021	2	[46]
Pitchfork	US	The 50 Best Albums of 2021	6	[47]
		The 31 Best Rock Albums of 2021	—	[48]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette	US	The 10 best albums of 2021	1	[49]
PopMatters	US	The 75 Best Albums of 2021	56	[50]
The Quietus	UK	Quietus Albums Of The Year 2021	93	[51]
Revolver	US	25 Best Albums of 2021	3	[52]
The Ringer	US	The Best Albums of 2021	3	[53]
Rolling Stone	US	The 50 Best Albums of 2021	8	[54]
Spin	US	The 30 Best Albums of 2021	1	[55]
Uproxx	US	The Best Albums Of 2021	—	[56]
The Washington Post	US	Best music of 2021	4	[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Turnstile, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mystery"		2:35
2.	"Blackout"		2:53
3.	"Don't Play"		2:13
4.	"Underwater Boi"	Turnstile Justice Tripp	3:04
5.	"Holiday"		2:52
6.	"Humanoid / Shake It Up"		1:09
7.	"Endless"	Turnstile Sam Trapkin	1:58
8.	"Fly Again"		2:31
9.	"Alien Love Call" (featuring Blood Orange)	Turnstile Devonté Hynes	2:56
10.	"Wild Wrld"		2:54
11.	"Dance-Off"		2:09
12.	"New Heart Design"		2:27
13.	"T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection)"		1:42
14.	"No Surprise"		0:45
15.	"Lonely Dezires" (featuring Blood Orange)		2:43
Total length:			34:51

Notes

• All tracks are stylized in all caps. For example, "Mystery" is stylized as "MYSTERY".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Glow On^[3] and Tidal.^[57]

Turnstile

• Brendan Yates – vocals (tracks 1–13, 15), co-production (all tracks), art direction
• Franz Lyons – bass (all tracks), vocals (tracks 6, 14)
• Brady Ebert – guitar (all tracks)
• Pat McCrory – guitar (all tracks)
• Daniel Fang – drums (tracks 1–13, 15)

Additional personnel

• Dev Hynes – vocals (tracks 9, 15), additional vocals (track 7)
• Julien Baker – additional vocals (track 4)
• Mike Elizondo – production (all tracks), drum programming (1–7, 10–13) synthesizer (tracks 1, 9–15)
• Adam Hawkins – mixing (all tracks)
• Lawson White – engineering (all tracks)
• Erica Block – assistant engineering (all tracks)
• Zachary Stokes – assistant engineering (all tracks)
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Alexis Jamet – cover, design
• Dewey Saunders – art direction
• Jimmy Fontaine – band photos

Charts

Chart performance for Glow On

Chart (2021–2022)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[58]	82
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[59]	75
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[60]	93
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[61]	108
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[62]	9
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[63]	25
Scottish Albums (OCC)[64]	22
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[65]	98
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[66]	30
UK Albums (OCC)[67]	62
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[68]	2
US Billboard 200[69]	30

References

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External links

• Glow On at Discogs (list of releases)