Turnover Rock at Roadrunner
photo courtesy of @turnoverva on Twitter
by Bella Perreira ‘24
On November 5th, Turnover kicked off their US tour in Boston after the release of their latest album, Myself in the Way. I was super excited to experience Roadrunner for the first time, so with fellow DJ Sully in tow as my plus one, we headed to Allston-Brighton to see a very fun lineup!
13 years after forming in Virginia Beach, Turnover currently consists of three of the five original members, with longtime touring guitarist Nick Rayfield recently joining the group as a permanent member. Despite their early roots in the emo and punk scene, the bulk of Turnover’s recent music has established them as indie rock artists. Their music is often described as dreamy and introspective, with each release further centering this type of sound. 2022’s Myself in the Way introduces a number of funky basslines and disco-esque melodies, bringing energy to their usual softness in songs like “Ain’t Love Heavy” and “Queen in the River.”
This tour features a variety of supporting acts; while we missed Horse Jumper of Love, we did get to hear sets from Yumi Zouma and George Clanton. Yumi Zouma, an alt dream-pop band from New Zealand, gave an electric performance full of the ever-popular ‘bedroom pop’ sound. From dancier songs like “Crush (It’s Late, Just Stay)” to the moodier “Astral Projection” off their pensive new album, Present Tense, the group was super fun to watch. Their electropop sound features many groovy guitar lines, making them a great choice to get the crowd buzzing before Turnover. Both Horse Jumper of Love and Yumi Zouma are continuing with the tour until December 3rd.
Next up was George Clanton, a vaporwave artist with a lot of energy. Like Turnover, Clanton also hails from Virginia, and is the proud founder of record label 100% Electronica. Clanton’s sound is, simply, psychedelic— of course, this impression was probably bolstered by the giant LED screen displaying trippy colors and cannabis leaves. Regardless, it created a pretty cohesive vibe. Clapton’s own stage presence was simple, consisting of just a small standing keyboard and a mic, but the flashing lights and images behind him still managed to get the audience riled up throughout the set.
Turnover walked on stage a little past 9:30 and kicked off their performance with “Stone Station,” a quick synth-heavy intro that led right into “Tears of Change.” Being the first tracks to the new album, these generated some excitement from the crowd, but the slower rhythms and twangy guitar still kept the start of their set relatively chill. When “Myself in the Way” came on next, however, the slowness dissipated to make way for funky melodies and a beat that made it easy to move. With “Humming” and “Super Natural,” we returned to Turnover’s classic ambient alternative sound with drums you can always bob your head to, and this vibe remained for the majority of the night.
While the bulk of the 22-song setlist was built around Myself in the Way, Turnover offered a great sampling of their musical evolution over the years. Peripheral Vision (2015) was well-represented with crowd-favorites such as “Take My Head” and “Dizzy on the Comedown.” Altogether (2019) and Pure Nature (2017) made less of an appearance, but hits like “Pure Devotion” and “Much After Feeling” still added to a stellar set. Fans of Turnover in their early emo days probably wouldn’t recognize their sound today, although they did include “Humblest Pleasures” off their lesser known 2016 single of the same name.
The show ended on a high as the band debuted “People That We Know” followed by “Dizzy on the Comedown” and “New Scream” off of their 2015 album Peripheral Vision. The older songs held up, and despite their newer preference for disco softcore, Turnover still knows how to perform their driving guitar and drum-heavy melodies from the old days. Even with their changes in style over time, the show brought out some longtime fans, and the first night of the tour meant multiple live debuts for songs off the new album. But regardless of whether you've loved them since 2013 or just found their stuff this year, it seems like everyone can have a good time at a Turnover show.
