For their fourth album, modern hardcore heroes Turnstile have decided to go pop on us. Now it needs to be stated that this is not the bright saccharine pop of boy bands and failed soap stars; this is wonderful, off-kilter, distorted pop. This is the pop of Animal Collective, Sia, The Beach Boys (at their most experimental) and LCD Soundsystem. It is a magnificent left turn that is both accessible and simultaneously challenging. On the surface, it feels all light and breezy, but there is still an element of dissatisfaction and despair running through these songs.

Hardcore punks' disassociation with the norms of society still runs strong through this album, even if musically it abandons the heaviness for melody and harmony. It balances simplicity with complexity, creating a sound that sits somewhere between the two. It is moreish and accessible, and it still retains that feeling of disenfranchisement and being an outsider. A pop album that both reinvents and reaffirms what pop is. Just stunning.

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