TURNSTYLEs

TURNSTYLES 2

The record, “TWO” is a double LP (gatefold) with 30 songs that Seth and Graham poured their hearts into since the pandemic began. There’s surf, psych country, garage rock, and even some punk in there. Cover and gatefold art and design by Coco Moody. The album was co-released with Head Perfume Records in Dresden, Germany.

reviews

This album contains some great roots-inspired rock. The album opens with “Vampire,” a jumpy rock song with a mid-tempo beat and some excellent harmonizing, culminating into a head-nodding chorus. “Suicide Surf Break” is a terrific beach-comber containing a solid guitar twang riff framed with steady snare and a frank rumination on the dangers of losing your concentration. “Over You” is a message to someone; a sincere and catchy breakup song. This is a prolific band. This, their second album, is a double LP comprised of songs that rarely break the three-minute mark. If you’re into punk-ish roots like Reigning Sound, you’ll dig this. The album is a fun wallow in the pool of rock’n’roll. - Razorcake | read more

…Even when Winchester adopts the perspective of a vampire, on the album’s lead track, it’s with such a sense of abandon (the music slamming like The Jam) and roller-coaster-level fun that it’s a world away from David Bowie, Nick Cave, or any goth wannabes. Like the group’s debut, reviewed here in 2020, Turnstyles 2 is an up album — even more so, considering that this is a double platter package, with 27 of the 30 tracks clocking in at three minutes or less, and some of those even under two.

This sense of abandon makes Turnstyles one of the most exciting live bands in the city now. Their sheer energy (and stamina) proves irresistible to most crowds. - Memphis Flyer | Read More

These two have a lot of fire under their butts. Guitarist Seth Moody and drummer Graham Winchester rattle their hearts out, and so does the listener. In a whopping 30 songs on this double vinyl, they sound out the incredibly wide range between garage, surf, punk, rock'n'roll and various retro sounds from the fifties to the seventies… the two soulful musicians compensate for this with accomplished virtuosity, which means: they don't leave any gaps with voices, twang, groove and drum rolls. Full energy on the second album, simply titled "2". - Kraut Nick Magazine | READ MORE

Two dudes from the States rock 'n' roll. Guitarist and singer Seth Moody and drummer Graham Winchester knock out 30 songs on the double LP! Strong output from two guys who supposedly play in several other bands, but none of them tell me anything. If you can't live without the info, you can google it. As Turnstyles, the duo rocks itself over two LPs, constantly oscillating between blues rock, surf and rockabilly influences. The songs are rather light fare due to the cast alone and are therefore perfectly suited for Beatles fans, hippie rockers or the old cassette deck in the obligatory VW Bulli, which every second punk teacher has in the courtyard today.

Back to the record and seriously, of course not everything is gold with 30 songs, but Turnstyles don't need to hide from comparisons with duos like Two Gallants or Black Keys. I find the band discussed here even much more likeable than the two mainstream representatives mentioned, because you can really hear the garage in Memphis here. Speaking of Memphis, it is a co-release of the labels Black & Wyatt, from said Memphis, Tennessee, and Head Perfume from Dresden, Saxony. Both known strongholds of blues culture. After all, Memphis counts Elvis Presley and the Three-6-Mafia among the city's sons, Dresden on the other hand has a musical about the Blues Brothers to show for itself, in which the brothers were not shy about putting them in a Trabbi. If that's not blues enough for you, Matthias Sammer is also from Dresden and has had the blues on his face for years. So here comes together what belongs together. Strong contender for summer record of the year. - Bierschinken | READ MORE

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CUT YOU OFF

Cut You Off was the debut album for the Turnstyles with Seth Moody on guitar and Graham Winchester on the drums. Moody and Winchester play together in the Jack Oblivian Band, Cassette Set, and many other projects, but as a high-energy duo they specifically explore surf rock, psych rock, and classic rock n’ roll.  Graham 1st cousin once removed was the great Jesse Winchester. Seth moved from Wilmington, North Carolina for the Rock and Roll in 2016 after a brief stop over in Tennessee’s other music city, memorialized on the album’s first track - Cashville.

reviews + articles

“As a band, and particularly a duo, Turnstyles has played so many random shows, from big stages to the corner of someone’s humid basement,” says Winchester, an acclaimed drummer who has accompanied everyone from Jack Oblivian to Devil Train. “But we always try to see the positive with every single show, and with that mentality, the music always takes us to a higher spiritual place.” - Memphis Flyer | READ

Members of Jack Oblivian’s band, Seth Moody (guitar) and Graham Winchester (drums) are Turnstyles. From Memphis, this group/duo deals in the rocking yet cheerfully loose vibe that characterizes many of the Bluff City’s rock legends. Listeners will hear echoes of Tav Falco, post-Big star Alex Chilton and the like, but Turnstyles are a shade or three less shambolic than those artists.

Cut You Off sports a decidedly lo-fi, tinny sounds, but it’s exactly what the music demands, so – In this case – lack of fidelity isn’t a negative. Neither is Turnstyles’ lack of a bassist; while the guitar-and-drum paradigm would seem to have long since been played out, with everything of interest long since having been done to death. But these guys deliver the music with such spirit and guileless authenticity that it deserves another look/listen. - Musoscribe | READ

Another two-piece here but this is not Captain and Tenille (or Seals & Crofts)…now, these two gents, Seth Moody (guitar/vocals) and Graham Winchester (drums/vocals) go low, real low and by low I mean they recorded on a 1986 Tascam 488 8-track reel-to-reel in a basement (“on a school night”…ha ha ha). You can also catch these guys playing with Jack Oblivion too which means they’re probably in demand around town and I can see why. They open things off with a cut called “Cashville” so you know the jalopy has a full tank of gas (Buick Elektra 225?) while the tear-in-your-beer “Lately I’ve Been Lonesome” grinds down. Later on “Miami” talks about the most pastel city in American while “Fish Taco” is makin’ me hungry. These two grind and groove and spit out some swaggerin’ rock n’ roll until the needle is worn down to a nub. There could be lots of bands in Memphis who can do this stuff but these two are the only ones I know who are doing it so chew on that. And come on, if the cat spinning records on the cover doesn’t sell you then nothing will. -Daggerzine | READ

Seth Moody (guitar) and Graham Winchester (drums) both play in other incarnations, including Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks, so they know a thing or two about a good arrangement. They've played local stages for some time now, but it was only this April Fool's Day that their debut, Cut You Off, was released on Bandcamp. Now the vinyl edition, pressed by Black & Wyatt Records, is out as well.

And the results are a true shot in the arm during these troubled times. If the White Stripes demonstrated that guitar/drum duos could be as heavy as Led Zeppelin, making much use of all that empty space between notes, the Turnstyles' approach is to swing the pendulum back to the frenetic, upbeat sound that earlier duos mined. -Memphis Flyer | READ

“A magnificent modern garage rock LP with power-pop and indie moments that escapes the end of any typecasting. Between some first Talking Heads and some filthy chorus Cynics with a Cash to throw around the house I encourage you to be seduced” - Mi Tocadiscos Dual | READ

this memphis duo bring the garage rock hard and heavy. like a more punk rock version of the white stripes. is that even possible? “cut you off” makes a case across these 12 tracks of country tinged rock with lo-fi swagger and cunning hook. - the ripple effect | READ

Turnstyles, Cut You Off (Black & Wyatt) The duo of guitarist Seth Moody and drummer Graham Winchester hail from Memphis and have played in Jack Oblivian’s band for a handful of releases. Also, along with Moody’s wife Coco, Mr. Jack O. has joined Moody and Winchester in Cassette Set, but here, it’s just the twosome getting down to some raw, sharp and primal R&R. Indeed, at times, like the title track, they are downright garage punkish, though there is post-rockabilly trash and even a few moments recalling the hickey side of old school C&W, e.g. “Lately I’ve Been Lonesome” reminding me a bit of the backwoodsy side of Jeffrey Evens of the long gone Gibson Bros. “Miami” also recalls that sometimes duo, but not as bent, as Cut You Off often connects like a Dexter Romweber album cut in the ’90s for Crypt. - The Vinyl District | READ

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by mike mccarthy