Turnstile is the latest artist to jam for NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series. The Baltimore quintet performed multiple tracks from their critically acclaimed 2021 album, Glow On, for the set made available Wednesday (Jan. 5).
Members Brendan Yates, Franz Lyons, Brady Ebert, Pat McCrory and Daniel Feng rocked from Feng’s home in front of a mind-boggling installation of stuffed animals by John Scharbach, a sweet contrast to the seven high-energy, hardcore tracks from their recent release. The band opened up their live set with “Endless,” before Yates welcomed viewers to their Tiny Desk.
“We’re Turnstile. Thank you for being here, thank you, NPR, for having us. Welcome to the Turnstile NPR Tiny Desk,” he said, transitioning into the ambient guitar instrumentals of “Underwater Boi.” The band followed that with “Blackout,” “Don’t Play,” “Mystery” and “T.L.C. (Turnstile Loving Connection)” before concluding with the originally Blood Orange-assisted “Alien Love Call.”
Billboard named Turnstile’s Glow On one of the best albums of 2021, placing it at No. 27 on the list. The record also debuted on the Billboard 200 chart dated Sept. 10 at No. 30.
Speaking about how the album’s production techniques differ from the traditional hard rock formula, Yates told Billboard in August, “It’s allowing your gut instinct to come out in the music, whether it’s with percussion stuff, pianos or different sounds … sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But if it pops up in your mind, it’s for a reason, and we always try to capture that.”
Watch Turnstile’s NPR Tiny Desk below.