Turnover

After one of the brightest days of the year so far, the heavens opened the second we joined the queue for Turnover at The Waterfront Studio. Huddled under the overlap of the building the atmosphere was more than a little bit impatient, and there was a certain amount of relief in the air when they finally opened the doors. Turnover is an American band of mixed genres, and their unique sound invited a moderately diverse audience. Since 2009 they have released four albums, giving them a good choice of material for the gig.

Opening for them were local alt-rock three-piece Hex Friends. They have only been together for just over a year, and you can mostly catch them playing a number of support slots at local venues. The fan base for their tried and tested alternativesound is slowly gaining numbers, and the size of the crowd that turned up to see them play was pretty sizable for such an early timeslot.

After them came American band Hot Flash Heat Wave, bring a slightly more chilled out surf pop vibe to the stage. They have released three albums since 2015, all with a similarly laid-back summery feel. Their latest single (2019) The Night Has Opened My Eyes has a slightly more off the wall feel, with funkier drums and liberal use of autotune. Pairing idealistic teenage lyrics with their sunny sound makes for a pleasant, upbeat listen, though I would argue not the most dance-y of genres to see live, though they did engage the crowd more, moving them up to the front of the stage before the main band. The 70’s elements of their songs helped to make a more buzzy atmosphere, and by the end of their set most stragglers had joined the big crowd at the front of the venue.

Turnover started with absolutely no introduction, meaning that from my position from the back of the venue I ended up talking over the first thirty seconds of their first song, Still In Motion, having not realised they’d started. After my initial inobservance though, and once the beat picked up, the foot tapping drumming from the talented Casey Getz coaxed me into a state of chilled out swaying. Their recognisable funky basslines came out more in the following song, Much After Feeling, a relatively new release as well. Throughout their set they swung between funk and low-fi vibes, occasionally hitting on subtle country or surf influences. Much like their support, their music was made for lazy summer Sundays, and the gig was a mellow affair. My personal favourite song was probably Take My Head, which got me dancing the most (a must have for me, but not essential for other listeners, I’m aware). More pop-rock than their other stuff, and slightly more experimental on the guitar, it still had up-beat lyrics and a positive sentiment.

My only observation would be that, particularly in a venue the size of The Studio, having a seated frontman is not the most engaging of ideas. I understand that if you play keyboard you might want to sit down, but at least get the man a box or something. Their final song of the set was Humming, from their 2015 album Peripheral Vision, and as yet another band shunning the outdated tradition of an encore (if I mention enough how much I hate them eventually someone is going to listen to me) walked off stage, thanking their support bands for the third time that evening. Turnover are brilliant musicians to be sure, but stage presence was a little bitlacking, and minimal interaction with the audience made the gig a bit alienating to new listeners. However, despite this the evening was delightfully chill, and a really great way to fill a Sunday evening.