‘Peripheral Vision’ was released on Run For Cover Records last year, and in that short time it’s already cemented itself as one of the classics of recent years. It’s dreamy, emo-pop vibe (dreamo, if you may) contrast its bittersweet and self-aware lyrics to create a real art form, and it’s already changing the direction of emo and inspiring the next generation of bands.
A selection of early EPs were the first flickers we heard of Turnover and in 2013 their debut full length, ‘Magnolia’, saw their arrival fully into the scene. An accomplished debut and a snapshot of where pop punk and emo were at the time, it was received quite well with ‘Most Of The Time’, ‘Flicker & Fade’, ‘Daydreaming’ and album opener ‘Shiver’ all pleasing to the ear. Turnover’s influences and encouraged heavy use of guitars from the get go hooked in listeners. It was that love of guitar music that would lay the bedrock for their sophomore and feature subject, ‘Peripheral Vision.’
“Life for Turnover at the moment is very busy,” lead singer Austin Getz divulges outside their show in Manchester supporting Moose Blood. Bassist, Danny Dempsey, is also in attendance on the large sofa in the foyer of the Academy.
The pair seem very modest about their work, and are just going with the flow of being a solid hot prospect for further success. “People’s reaction to ‘Peripheral Vision’ exceeded our expectations vastly and still does every day,” says Dempsey.
Getz labels the initial success in the UK for the album as a key point in their immensely positive success. “When we toured ‘Peripheral Vision’ in the US it was all support slots but we came here and headlined and sold everywhere out.”
The various line-up changes the band faced with guitarists Alex Dimaiuat and Kyle Kogan leaving in 2012 and 2013 respectively forced frontman, Austin Getz, to take up rhythm guitar for the recording of ‘Magnolia’. With the addition of guitarist Eric Soucy, it wasn’t until 2014 until the group could settle down and record an album together.
“It was Eric’s first time writing a full length with us but he wrote some on the two 7 inches we put out before and it made us know that we could do something good,” explains Getz.
“We were all less overwhelmed as to how ‘Magnolia’ came out just by our account. The band was in a weird place. Writing ‘Peripheral Vision’ allowed us to do what we wanted, as there wasn’t a bunch of people setting expectations for the band. We just wrote and recorded what we all liked a lot. It was the most collaborative process we’ve ever had as a band. I think it came out as good as it did because everyone brought something good to the process,” he continues.
At the time of recording the group were listening to a lot of The Cure, The Smiths and The National, Getz, tells me. The influences of bands with distinct arty sounds, their new fearless, and “anything could happen” attitude to recording dictated a great change within their sound.
As stated before, ‘Magnolia’ was a guitar driven, pop punk record. It was a very good album but it wasn’t viewed as ground breaking. ‘Peripheral Vision’ offered the listener a totally different direction and mood. A lot of twinkling guitar lines, ethereal and vast progressions in songs, helped along by dreamy reverb, ‘Peripheral Vision’ brought a strong new direction to an otherwise linear scene.
Essentially breaking the barrier and leaving the pop punk label behind, Turnover diverted their attention to dream pop and indie rock. The fans appreciated it and despite the differences, they are still kept under the umbrella of pop punk and emo whilst further attracting audiences from others genres.
The new sound took a large weight off pop punk and emo- proving that it doesn’t have to be all dark, distortion and distress. ‘Peripheral Vision’ proves that within all the bad times there still can be something to give out good vibes.
“We are always growing and changing as people and stuff changes both in your life and in your mind. As people we really matured between albums, which really affected the outcome,” details Getz.
The vast change in sound between albums “wasn’t deliberate at all” Dempsey reveals. “We didn’t think we had to write a record to get out of the pop punk sound. We just wrote music and it all came naturally.”
Dempsey further added that the group had tried to re-imagine ‘Magnolia’ inspired ideas but it didn’t translate well. The accompaniment is whimsical and free flowing, yet to contrast Getz’s lyrics are very much the opposite. The dreamy guitar-lines and curving bass allows a prose of self-awareness, brutal honesty and bittersweet lyrics to evolve the album further.
The lyrics very much fit with the band’s debut and subsequent releases. They are brutally honest, very relatable and offer a certain level of poetic creativity that carries the songs. This decision to have such a stark contrast with accompaniment and lyrics again wasn’t intentional by the band.
“I never really thought that much into it” Getz says. “I feel there is indeed a strong contrast and it has shock value to it all. When I was growing up I was listening to stuff like Saves The Day and Blink 182 and the music sounds very positive but the lyrics can be the opposite. It must have been somewhere in my subconscious.”
Aside from the expert song writing on ‘Peripheral Vision’ the strong emphasis on the production album takes merit, too. Far more dimensional and with a lot more variation in sound and technique than ‘Magnolia’, producer Will Yip receives a great deal of the credit.
In the past, Yip has worked with major acts across all genres, working extensively with the likes of Balance & Composure, The Wonder Years, Title Fight, Pity Sex, Citizen and many more. He has a strong relationship with Run For Cover Records and has helped produce some of their most prolific releases over the years.
“He had a major influence,” the heavily bearded Austin explains. “We wrote songs that we imagined how they’d fit in the album, but he played the role of producer and took it way beyond what we could. He gave really solid advice to everything we did and he is treated as a fifth member of the band.”
The incandescent humming you can hear in tracks is that of the Superego guitar pedal that was used in production. The gear the band originally used was heavily changed to create the new sound- although the Superego did feature partly on the debut record. However the Superego offers a more full sound to a song but it does come at a cost, as the group now struggles to play earlier songs live with the new gear.
Aside from production, once again Run For Cover Records are being cited as a great group of people to work with. “It feels like you’re working with such a good group of people that it isn’t strictly a business relationship,” says Getz. “They like the music, and they don’t just pump money into it all to make a profit.”
Heralded as one of the best indie labels around, Run For Cover have made a name for themselves in encouraging acts to explore new sounds and seeing what comes out.
As the interview draws to a close its clear that Turnover are immensely proud of ‘Peripheral Vision’, yet remain relaxed and eager to further please their fans. The album is a valiant success, and proof that more bands should take leaps of faith to explore new sounds. It is a fearless and brave album, and a snapshot as to how Turnover were feeling at the time of recording.
For now though, ‘Peripheral Vision’ is slowly getting labelled as a masterwork and it’s another effort to shoot pop punk, emo and indie labels to further deserved success.
‘Peripheral Vision’ is available now via Run For Cover Records.