Turnover Returns to Their Roots With Self-Released Double A-Side “Nightjar / I See You And Realize”

Cover art for “Nightjar / I See You And Realize” (Photo by Nick Waplington)

We’re about to enter a Turnover summer. The shoegaze band from Virginia dropped two singles on Thursday and announced that they are releasing a new album, Down On Earth, on May 29. This comes after they celebrated a decade of their beloved sophomore album, Peripheral Vision, last year — a record which has solidified itself as a cornerstone of 2010s indie rock.

This will be Turnover’s first studio album since their 2022 record, Myself in the Way, which marked a shift in their discography to a more electronic and experimental sound, a pivot teased in isolated moments on their 2019 album, Altogether. 

If “Nightjar” and “I See You And Realize” are any indication, Turnover’s upcoming album will be both a return to the sonic roots of Peripheral Vision and a springboard into a new chapter.

The double A-side is the perfect one-two punch for a summer day soundtrack. If “Nightjar” evokes the unrestrained energy of a sweltering afternoon, then “I See You And Realize” is the midnight rumination that inevitably follows: moody, expansive, and disquieting. 

“Nightjar” would fit in nicely among the bright, open chords found in Good Nature, their 2017 LP, if you added crunchier guitars and more enigmatic lyrics; vocalist and guitarist Austin Getz ruminates on horizons, ladybugs, and the titular bird (calling it a “psychopomp”).

On “I See You And Realize,” Getz’s voice hits you from a deeper register, and with it, the song’s emotional core becomes darker and more urgent. This, melded with the track’s grungy shoegaze instrumentation, makes for an entrancing listen that only gets better the longer you sit with it.

The second single is a plea for a loved one to join the singer in his version of “paradise,” which seems more and more like a mirage as the song goes on. Getz’s vocals turn staccato and desperate in the track’s bridge, begging the other person to try: “If we try I bet that we could live in a dream / And we could dream the best.”

Watch the official music video for “Nightjar” on YouTube.

The upcoming record is self-released, a significant change after over a decade with Run For Cover Records, the label behind all five of their previous LPs. “This record has been different and exciting for us in so many ways. It will be self-released and shipped by us. We’ve been working with some friends and have a system ready to make things more personal but as accessible as ever,” the band said in a statement posted to Instagram this week.

Especially in their earlier work, Turnover has been able to seamlessly blend grunge and dream pop to create a unique brand of emo indie rock, and their latest singles build on this solid foundation. Down On Earth feels primed to be a potent drop ahead of the summer and a breath of fresh air from a band firmly taking control of their own sound and embracing independent music.

Catch Turnover on tour this year with Narrow Head and she’s green.