Turncoat Syndicate has been haunting the scene in Norfolk, Virginia, for well over a decade. They released their debut EP, Mourning Star, in 2013, and their first full-length album, The Life You Wanted, in 2018. Seven years have passed, and Turncoat Syndicate has released their eponymous sophomore effort after announcing that they signed with Spectra Music Group.
The band seems content to take time recording songs. Their Instagram features a live studio recording of “Angels & Demons” that dates back to 2020 but is very telling. It shows the band’s refinement since The Life You Wanted in that guitarist Will Clarke has a fatter sound on his guitar, something that complements bassist Pat Maurer’s nasty, chunky growl. The IG recording also reveals that Turncoat Syndicate is absolutely killer live. Maurer and drummer Mat Talley have a watertight rhythmic connection that suits the more primitive aspects of both of their approaches, and Dan Forlines is a rock-solid vocalist who has landed in the narrow space between his influences to find a tonal territory of his own.
The IG recording of “Angels and Demons” is so persuasive and open that the album version (called “Angels & Devils”) with keyboards in the background and guitar overdubs can’t help but disappoint a little. If there’s room to grow for the next album, it’s in finding a studio sound that moves a little closer to their live sound. That said, Lost Weekend is a fantastic and pivotal document of the band’s career that invigorates something I had thought long dead and buried: alternative rock. What does that category even mean? The argument can be made that alternative ceased to be so when Billboard made a chart for it. But if that iconic 90s alt-rock sound with all its grungy overtones has anything to say beyond nostalgia, Turncoat Syndicate are the guys saying it.
“Charmed” opens the album with Clarke playing muted straight eights that Maurer and Talley punch the daylights out of while Forlines sings a melody line that descends into the turmoil. On the second verse, the boys switch it up, letting the bass take the lead with an Arabic scale-tinged riff. But the band is not done with its tricks, bringing in a soft, searching interlude before ending the song with an ironic cha-cha-cha outro.
The overall effect of “Charmed” is of a hard-hitting rocker, but it also indicates the territory Turncoat covers in the album. In the hard-hitting category, “Burn All Of It Down” picks up on the heels of “Angels & Devils,” cheerfully inciting personal discovery to general anarchy as Talley, Maurer, and Clarke drive Forline through the changes. “Outside World” slows down the tempo a touch to better pound and thrash under Forline’s powerful delivery of vulnerable lyrics.
The band never really slows down, but they do ratchet back the intensity. Clarke picks up an acoustic guitar on the seducer “Sweet Ecstasy” to create the basis for a three-minute build, if not to ecstasy, then at least to a nice runner-up. Layered guitars fill in under Forline’s charged chorus, celebrating love in the moment. “Past Mistakes” is, ironically, the happiest-sounding tune on the album. Maurer’s driving bassline accommodates a strong melodic component on an equal playing field with the rest of the band, making it a great feature for his talent. “Falling Forward” lopes lightly through the chords to a charged and distorted chorus and is a showcase for Clarke’s guitar work, going from light, clean picking to full, distorted chords, and offering clever breaks in the interludes.
The last three songs of the album circle back to its gritty, aggressive beginning. “Bender” takes another pulsing bassline that Clarke punctuates before going into a proper solo, and “Grand Illusion” and “Feathers” clean everything up with a one-two punch. The former’s lyricism fades to the latter’s epic pedal tone, dark theater, and big sound.
What’s special about Turncoat Syndicate is that they put all four members on an even playing field where everyone is absolutely essential to the music, not just tonally, but rhythmically. Forline’s soaring vocals offer a rhythmic contrast to Maurer and Talley’s engine room pulsing and weaving. Meanwhile, Maurer and Clarke trade off rhythmic and melodic duties with a supreme effortlessness.
Why this band doesn’t have a larger audience by now is anyone’s guess. One reason may be the obvious debt they owe to their forebears. For my money, Turncoat Syndicate’s new album is where they pay off the balance and start staking their own territory.
Reviewed by Christopher Raley
