It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn in Bloomington, MN

Originally released in 1990,
It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn
was
Turning Point
's sole full-length album, after a string of EPs and compilation appearances and before they broke up less than a year later. Unlike a lot of the suburban Philly band's
straight edge
contemporaries,
never jumped the twin
hair-metal
and
grunge-rock
bandwagons of the period, but managed to grow and evolve artistically while staying true to their
hardcore
roots. Although most of these 13 songs stick close to the under-two-minute buzz saw vibe of
, singer
Skip Candelori
is already exploring the more nuanced vocal style and personal lyrics of what would eventually be called
emo
, and guitarist
Jay Laughlin
occasionally lets slip hints of the more layered, complex sounds he would soon start exploring in his later group
Lenola
. This is a fine album, but
Jade Tree
's release of the comprehensive and excellent
1988-1991 Discography
, which includes all 12 of the original LP tracks and the CD's excellent bonus track
"Broken,"
makes this version of the record superfluous. ~ Stewart Mason