In Rotation: Turnspit - Desire Paths

The debut full-length album from Chicago punks Turnspit is here and I have a feeling this is going to be one of the big albums of the year. It's instantly catchy. It's lyrically meaningful. It flows incredibly well as a cohesive work. It gets you to shout along. It gets you to listen in the quiet moments. "Breath Taking," the second song on the album, is the first one that started inadvertently popping in my head. The song hooked me right away and it is still my favorite. While universally relatable, the song has a personal meaning to guitarist and vocalist Jason Swearingen, as spelled out in an article over at Riot Fest.

The effort that went into the sequencing on Desire Paths is readily apparent. Guitarist and vocalist Gillian McGhee takes lead vocals on the opening track, "Irish Name," which itself is a prime example of their pop punk/emo sound. The next song, the aforementioned "Breath Taking," features Jason Swearingen on lead vocals. The two vocalists split duties on the following two tracks, "Walk Away" and "Apologies I Have So So Many." There is a good flow in the tones of the songs as well. Slower songs or songs with slower sections are interspersed through the second half of the record.

I interviewed guitarist and vocalist Gillian McGhee about the new record, the new hot sauce and such. Read that interview here. Desire Paths officially comes out on Friday, although you can stream the whole thing over at New Noise Magazine now. Pre-order the record through Dodgeball Records. Turnspit's record release show is this Saturday at the GMan Tavern with Retirement Party, Blood People and Third Twin Sister. More info on that show here.