“But you need somebody to paint all your dreams.”
Turnover is a band I’ve fallen in love with over the past couple of years. I’m admittingly late to the game, as I only became a fan upon the release of 2019’s Altogether. But, the band’s slow metamorphosis towards this glitzy dreampop sound won me over, and I thought it reached it’s zenith with that release, but the band has shown they have plenty of surprises left in the tank with their new album, Myself in the Way.
Perhaps the best display of the band’s sound in the current year is on the single “Ain’t Love Heavy”, which features Bre Morell of Temple of Angels. This track is expertly crafted. It starts with a dreamlike synth that slowly gets new instrumental additions after each stanza, whether it’s the drums kicking in, a new riff, a bouncy synth, or a hauntingly beautiful violin. It ramps every 4 lines until the inclusion of vocalist Austin Getz’s soulful topline. The following verse, Bre’s contribution gets a whole lot of spotlight and deservedly so, as her melodies add a lot to the track while keeping the spirit of it. The track then all comes together in dreampop bliss.
Another noticeable development in the band’s sound is the style in which the synths are incorporated. Take “Tears of Change”, for example, where the tone on the synths is more 70s, more “relaxing on the beach-like.” And on this particular song, it’s a bit of that, some quaint guitar licks and chords, and Getz’s minimalistic vocal approach. Each elements seems to work off each other in perfect unison, especially with Getz melancholically waxing poetic about his past. It’s one of the more relaxing songs I’ve heard in recent memory, and that’s a strength, in my opinion, though I could see how other people would want more.
Inversely, I think the title track, “Myself in the Way”, very much wants to do the same thing as “Tears of Change” but instead of leaning into those peaceful vibes, it’s more up tempo. This, combined with how much runtime the two middling chorus iterations take up, do a disservice to the track. It’s not a total loss, however, as the track has a long outro with Getz sounding more emotional over a great bassline and other funky instrumentals.
“Wait Too Long” is a nice midpoint between the last two tracks. The synth is consistently spacey, but the guitar work is more fast paced, and Getz’s topline finds a sweet spot right in the middle. He also packs a lot of lyrics into this one, more than most cuts on the record. It all comes across as sentimental and even romantic. This is especially true on the bridge during the lyric:
“Do those faces mean that I’m not making sense?I liked it better living in ignoranceWas I going through the motionsWhen I turned around and lost you?”
It’s a wonder that Getz can get his voice to be so soft, and I think when used correctly, it’s part of what makes Turnover a special band, and this bridge is a solid example. A blissful instrumental break finishes the song as the synth takes a more disco approach.
“People That We Know” is a standout track for me, and possibly my favorite overall. It manages to be a very dancey, exciting track while still ambient and dreamy. This is largely in part to the saxophone accompaniment that gives the song a groovy vibe that isn’t present on other tracks. The bassline laid down by Danny Dempsey is quick and intricate too, and it deserves a shoutout.
The back half of Myself in the Way falls off, for me. “Pleasures Galore” is kind of a fun one, but it’s mostly a cut where none of the elements that make up the track are impressive or impressionable. The chorus is hardly audible, and every other aspect is pretty bare bones. There’s a soft synth that dances in and out of the entirety of the song and that is the most listenable aspect. I’m close to considering the song borderline annoying, and it’s 5-minute run time doesn’t do it any favors either.
Then there’s two duds in “Fantasy” and “Queen in the River” which both seem to abandon a lot of the more compelling song writing aspects of the earlier tracks. The instrumental work on all fronts seem to be stripped back to more simple arrangements. And I’m getting less passion on the vocal front. There also seems to be less passion in how the songs are presented compared to ones like “Ain’t it Heavy” or “People That We Know”. It could also be fatigue of this sound setting in, but I’m firm on it being the songs themselves.
I don’t have much good to say about the closer either; “Bored of God / Orlando” strikes me as having similar issues to the other weaker tracks. Namely, less purposeful songwriting and uninspired production. At this point, the beach synths do, in fact, get a tad old as well. It ends the album on a bit of a meandering note as the “Orlando” section of the double track seems tacked on. We do get a bit of a mixed bag here, I think. The first half of the album is a great evolution of Altogether without stepping on its toes, while the second half partly spoils that. I could see fans of the band prefer Myself in the Way because it is a good album and there’s a lot to like here, but I wish it stuck the landing a bit better.
7.5/10
You can pre-order Turnover’s new album here, out Friday November 4th via Run for Cover Records.