Released:
Rating:
A soundtrack for hazy summer days.
Label: Atlantic Records
Released: 25th August 2017
Rating: ★★★
There aren’t many albums designed just for just one time of year but Turnover’s ‘Good Nature’ is a soundtrack for all of those hazy summer days. Two years on from their moody and acclaimed album ‘Peripheral Vision’, the band remain as dreamy as ever; ‘Good Nature’ feels drenched in sunlight with shimmering guitar tones and happiness pouring through the 11 tracks.
The first taste of the album, ‘Super Natural’, is reminiscent of The Beach Boys with its groove laden rhythm cooly sliding into the chorus, “When nothing was ahead of us, that week in California;” a line which you end up singing for days. As far as first tracks go, this is the perfect snapshot of ‘Good Nature’ with the Virginia lot showing the confidence to continue to let their sound grow as well as showing that writing catchy pop hooks comes, well, “super naturally” to them.
From there the album beams with different ideas from the soothing ‘Sunshine Type,’ the upbeat ‘Butterfly Dream’ and the vibrant indie-rock jam ‘Curiosity’ which shows that, regardless of the approach, ‘Good Nature’ shines at every turn. Those laid back vocals and dulcet tones make it easy to lose yourself in the middle of the album, and the whole thing seems to lull into one fascinating blissed-out soundscape; which for many might be the perfect escape, but it makes some tracks seemingly pass by without a second thought.
Thankfully, the 90s style pop smash hit ‘Nighlight Girl’ draws attention as the end of the album kicks towards its climax with the pulsating ‘Breeze’ and psychedelic romp of ‘Living Small’. Then, ‘Good Nature’ just kind of comes to an end without warning and it’s time to acclimatise with reality again.
‘Good Nature’ doesn’t feel like a reinvention of Turnover but a continuing progression of their ever expanding sound as, while the styles and influences change, the album seamlessly flows together with feel good vibes running through its core. So, let this be the album you hear every time the clouds part. Alex Bradley
