Essential Tracks This Week: Turnstile, Hotline TNT, and more
Like big rock songs with lots of guitars? Of course you do. But while we have your attention, how about some glitchy pop, synth-laden avant garde jazz, and uh, sure, some more big, noisy rock songs. This week’s batch of Essential Tracks are meant to be played loud, so turn ’em up!
Turnstile – “Never Enough”
If you had hopes Turnstile would suddenly return to their hardcore roots, you’re out of luck. For the rest of us, their transformation into a wide-eared inventive alternative rock band continues comfortably. For those who loved GLOW ON, this shows exactly the progression you would expect: more hooks, an open atmosphere and a one-note melody for the refrain that still sinks deep in the head. Pop-rock is a tricky thing, balancing musculature with deep and detailed songwriting. Turnstile grows into this shape beautifully. – Langdon Hickman
From Never Enough, out June 6 via Roadrunner.
Hotline TNT – “Julia’s War”
Hotline TNT have an uncanny ability to infuse thick and shoegazey guitar rock songs with hooks that eclipse the whole of their three or four minutes. “Julia’s War,” the first single from upcoming album Raspberry Moon is just such a song, loaded with big guitar riffs, mesmerizing verses and a chorus of “ya ya” chants that feels like it means a lot more than its gobbledygook repetition actually suggests. It’s made for sing-alongs and hoisting lighters in the air, and as the spring season heats up and beckons us outside, that’s exactly the kind of thing I need right now. – Jeff Terich
From Raspberry Moon, out June 20 via Third Man.
yeule – “Evangelic Girl Is a Gun”
The grimy, groove-a-licious title track to yeule’s fourth album makes it nearly impossible not to count down the days until May 30, when the Singapore songwriter/producer dishes out their fourth platter of peculiar pop. (That’s not counting their three soundtracks and four EPs.) Leaning heavily toward synth and glitch—and backing away from yeule’s noisier tendencies—“Evangelic Girl Is a Gun” is off-kilter yet club-ready. Hell, even trad radio might be ready for this rad thumper, it’s that damn infectious. That’s not meant to be backhanded—it’s the mark of someone who appears ready to take one small step for a musician and one giant leap for an artist heading into otherworldly superstardom. – Kurt Orzeck
From Evangelic Girl Is a Gun, out May 30 via Ninja Tune
Lifeguard – “It Will Get Worse”
Chicago punk powerhouse Lifeguard only continue to push the melodic boundaries of noisy post hardcore. Produced by No Age’s Randy Randall, “It Will Get Worse” finds the trio meeting halfway between discordance and harmony, blending searing lo-fi tones with power pop structures for a brilliantly catchy introduction to their full length debut Ripped and Torn. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know Lifeguard get better with each release, and “It Will Get Worse” is an incredible stepping stone for the youthful, burgeoning crew. Consider this your final warning to get your ears on this Lifeguard before they pop off. – Patrick Pilch
From Ripped and Torn, out June 6 via Matador.
Mary Halvorson – “Carved From”
Brooklyn guitarist Mary Halvorson has already moved past one of the best jazz albums of 2024 with her latest single. “Carved From” immediately scans as new ground for her, not only because of its levity, but because it’s the first time she’s recorded with the Pocket Piano synthesizer. Prior to “Carved From”, she’d never even played a synthesizer. As such, her performance lends “Carved From” a curious outlook, as if someone is learning to color within the lines of a Basquiat piece. – Colin Dempsey
From About Ghosts, out June 13 via Nonesuch
SENTRIES – “The Cowboy’s Carcass”
What a wild surprise! Imagine: psychedelic noise punk a la Destruction Unit married to the swaggering drunken hard art rock of QOTSA and the shocking soundscaping of Nine Inch Nails. Is it noise rock? Shoegaze? Psych? Every time you think you’ve figured out the track, it shifts, disrupting itself in exciting and energy rich ways. I feel hearing that the way I did when I first discovered Fucked Up. For those not in the know, that’s high praise. – Langdon Hickman
From Gem of the West, out May 2
Punchlove – “Today You Can Learn the Secret”
Though they’ve arrived in time for the 21st century shoegaze revival, with their production modulated to the max, Punchlove are drunk on a desire to distance themselves from any semblance of conventional beauty—and make bands like My Bloody Valentine and Lush sound like neat freaks in comparison. Peel back those lo-fi layers and you’ll discover puzzling chatter and growls that sound like Led Zeppelin played backward. It’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in awesomeness. – Kurt Orzeck
Out now via Kanine
