Album Review: Turnstile - 'Never Enough'
‘Never Enough’ Is More Than Enough: Turnstile Return with Genre-Bending Fire.
Fresh off a high-profile tour with Blink-182, Baltimore’s hardcore punk juggernauts Turnstile return with Never Enough, their first project in four years and their most unpredictable yet. Stretching far beyond their punk roots, this record draws from heavy rock, indie pop, even Jersey club, without ever losing its identity. It’s a volatile, eclectic ride that rarely sits still.
Starting with lead single “Never Enough,” the band wastes no time reasserting their presence. An avant-garde, cinematic and slow-building opener, exploding into a wall of drums and energy that sets the tone perfectly. “Sole” follows with a grungier, Black-Sabbath-meets-early-Blink-182 vibe, leaning hard into their hardcore roots while echoing the influence of their recent tourmates.
By “I Care”, the shift is clear: this album isn’t bound to one lane. Crisp guitars and tight indie-pop drums showcase a softer side, with a spacey outro that floats gently into “Dreaming,” where an idiosyncratic horn sample cuts through heavy riffs and Brendan Yates’ voice rides the chaos like a wave. The refrain “falling out of place” feels like a thematic anchor in all the noise. “Light Design” and “Dull” showcase the band’s emotional and sonic extremes. The former is a vulnerable anthem wrapped in ethereal production; lyrics such as “never thought I’d be on my own but I survived” ring out & hit with sincerity. The latter is pure chaos: revving riffs, glitchy vocals, and a punk energy that never lets up.
“Sunshower” is a clear highlight. A two-part fever dream that begins with Travis Barker style drumming and then dissolves into tranquility with a hypnotic flute outro. That cinematic comedown bleeds right into “Look Out for Me,” the album’s towering centerpiece. Nearly seven minutes of genre-defying twists, it pulls from indie, hardcore, and Jersey club in a way that feels both experimental and deeply personal. After the storm comes “Ceiling,” a brief breath of fresh air, before “Seeing Stars”takes a turn into mellow, 70s-inspired territory. It’s clean and palatable… almost too much so. The one real lull on an otherwise fiery record.
The final stretch kicks things back into high gear. “Birds” and “Slow Dive” both bring back the punk urgency, the former a stadium-sized headbanger, the latter a whirlwind of overstimulation. Fun, but slightly repetitive by this point. “Time Is Happening” breaks through the noise with emotional clarity, opening with isolated vocals and building into one of the strongest, most anthemic tracks on the album.“Magic Man” closes things out with soft keys and a subdued mood. It’s a quieter sendoff, not as bold as the opener, but fitting nonetheless, leaving the listener to reflect on the chaos just endured.
In the end, Never Enough is a project that thrives on its unpredictability. Some risks soar, some stumble, but Turnstile’s boldness is undeniable. This is a band pushing punk into new territory, and whether or not every experiment lands, the ambition is what makes Never Enough worth diving into.
Words by Alex Peters
