Infinite Shuffle

Considering all of the parallels between Title Fight and Turnover, it’d be reasonable to assume that I discovered the latter while listening to the former.

In actuality, I happened upon Turnover while listening to a New Indie Rock mix on Google Play. I liked several of the songs, but one in particular stood out. So much so that I stopped the mix and immediately focused my attention on this band.

Not only did I instantly fall in love with Turnover’s latest release, Peripheral Vision, but almost as quickly did I see an obvious connection to the aforementioned Title Fight.

In addition to sharing a producer on their latest efforts, both bands began in the emo/pop-punk genre before eventually transitioning to more of an indie rock sound. Title Fight’s evolution was gradual and came over several albums. Turnover morphed much more rapidly.

In his review of Peripheral Vision, Pitchfork’s Ian Cohen sums it up nicely.

“In each instance, a traditionalist punk band goes headfirst into more aqueous forms of indie rock, but retain qualities which put them at an advantage over the countless wan, limp bands who decided to sound like the Smiths from the beginning.”

Turnover formed in Virginia Beach, Va., in 2009 and put out a few EPs before signing with Run For Cover Records in 2012. They released their first full-length album, Magnolia, in 2013.

The songs on that disc were a little more toned-down their previous stuff. And maybe that’s because lead singer Austin Getz had more responsibilities after taking over rhythm guitar duties from the departed Alex Dimaiuat in 2012.

Throughout the album, Getz and Co. channel their inner Dashboard Confessional with varying degrees of success. But rather than come off as whiny teenagers pining for love, they seem more resigned and melancholy.

The 2014 EP, Blue Dream, seemed to be a statement to fans that the group was taking things more seriously. It’s just three tracks, but it includes “Read My Mind”, which is the first time Turnover had ever really taken whatever it is that makes them stand out and synthesized it into something more complete.

But even that release couldn’t have prepared the Turnover faithful for Peripheral Vision, which dropped on May 4 of this year.

The first things listeners are struck by are the new guitar sound and filtered — probably auto-tuned — vocals. Right off the bat, on “Cutting My Fingers Off”, it’s clear that there’s a lot more going on with this album, from instruments and vocals to the overall production. And all of it is adding to the sound rather than taking anything away.

“New Scream” is just as strong and leads into arguably the best track here, “Humming”. The opening melody pulls you in and keeps you hooked throughout. And the way Getz sings the chorus is reminiscent of Stornoway — just without the accent.

The album dips a bit on “Hello Euphoria” and “Dizzy on the Comedown”. Neither song is bad, they just get overshadowed by the preceding songs. The latter tune gets points for the line “It’s just a euphoric comedown,” which I can only hope is in reference to the former track.

Things pick up again with “Diazepam”, a song where you start out bobbing your head to the beat, but, by the end, you’re shaking your head in agreement with the lyrics. “Like Slow Disappearing” in another solid track that takes a backseat to its bigger brothers. “Take My Head” is a bit of a sleeper and has all the makings of a single.

Following a couple of filler tracks, the album closes on “Intrapersonal”, which sounds just like another song I loved from the past couple of years but cannot recall right now. (Feel free to listen to it and help me out in the Comments section.)

Turnover are still considered a supporting act, so this summer would be a great time to catch them before they break out. They hit the road in August, spending a couple of months in the Eastern time zone before eventually heading west in October.