Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Turncoat

A Demonstration of Turncoat

Label: Release Date: 10/06/2004

6176
thommo by Thomas Blatchford June 15th, 2004

An absolute revelation of the dance/rock type, fresh-faced Brighton ensemble Turncoat set off on their mission to subvert the song structure with two tracks of shiny, well-oiled wonder, recorded at the near-legendary Truck Studios. Already a strikingly good live prospect, a studio interpretation of their tightly sprawling sound may not seem exactly the same – e.g. the bass may not pound through your body in the same way when played in the comfort of your own stereo - but that is not to say that the songs lose any edge or impact on the listener.

Starting with ‘At The Window’, the vocals warble like a sullen, pre-pubescent Weller and/or Curtis, the guitars chime stabbingly in a Strokes-esque manner and the bass jaggedly rumbles along not unlike the funkiest bits of Franz. Meanwhile, the band as a whole ends up (thankfully) not sounding much like any of them. “This is unbelievable / Just unbelievable”, they chant, as if summoning up some sort of spirit rather than enforcing a terrace sing-along, and all we can do is end up agreeing. That’s even before the song unravels into riff frenzy, like British Sea Power trying to emulate …Trail Of Dead and getting close enough. Phew. Second track ‘Heads Above Water’ does more to emphasise the ‘dance’ part rather than the ‘rock’ part, but still stomps in with guitars and synths like Grandaddy’s itchy-footed nephews, occasionally halting to the sound of bar-room kerfuffle and springing back into action with a high-hat driven, almost four-to-the-floor interpretation of what’s been before. Class.

It’ll only demand seven minutes of your time, but you’ll feel like you’ve been driven round winding country lanes, dragged into seedy drinking establishments and lured onto the dancefloor whilst still begging for more afterwards. They’ve got hooks to hang their hooks upon and have created a place you’ll want to re-visit because of it. Job’s a good ’un.

  • 8
    Thomas Blatchford's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Pink Grease

The Pink G.R.Ease

Mobback
6175
8487

Hell Is For Heroes

Transmit Disrupt

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND