Seein' Stars

Album: Never Enough (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Seein' Stars" finds Turnstile dialing into a dreamier, more meditative headspace than usual. The Baltimore hardcore outfit wrote the song for their fourth album, Never Enough, with frontman Brendan Yates co-producing alongside longtime collaborator Will Yip.
  • The track explores the emotional fog of heartbreak and confusion, the kind of pain that loops endlessly, offering no clear exit. Yates described it to BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders as being about "this relationship between stillness and chaos," drawing inspiration from moments in dreams that feel rooted in reality. "It was kind of a cool way to really just like, sink into a feeling and exist in it, and find peace in it and get lost in it," he said.
  • "Seein' Stars" drifts away from Turnstile's usual punk explosiveness, embracing synths, reverb-heavy guitars and a groove that pulses with tenderness. It's deliberately restrained, trading their trademark tempo shifts for a sense of stillness.

    Yates explained: "My typical brain writing songs is very like, jump all around and just change tempos... but something about sinking into this was kind of a cool way to just exist."
  • Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) - a frequent Turnstile collaborator - and Paramore's Hayley Williams both contribute backing vocals. "We were just throwing paint at the wall with her decorating our song with her angelic voice," Yates told The Independent. "It was really special."
  • "Seein' Stars" was released alongside the song "Birds" as a two-part video directed by Yates and guitarist Pat McCrory, continuing the band's tradition of hands-on, DIY visual storytelling.
  • Turnstile debuted the track live during their hometown show at Wyman Park Dell in Baltimore on May 10, 2025. They treated fans to a surprise when Hayley Williams joined them onstage at their Brooklyn show on June 5, 2025, for a special performance of the song.
  • "Seein' Stars" got a high-profile spotlight in a Taco Bell commercial that began airing nationwide in June 2025. The ad, which also features their track "Birds," stars skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and promotes Taco Bell's Build Your Own Luxe Cravings Box. In the spot, a group of skateboarders enjoys Taco Bell at the top of a ramp before spotting Tony Hawk, with Turnstile's music playing as Hawk skates down the ramp.
  • Many of the songs on Never Enough keep their word counts unusually low. On tracks like "Seein' Stars," the first and second verses repeat the same lines, while a hook-heavy chorus cycles through multiple times. This minimalist approach is intentional. "I really try to lean into not feeling the need to meet any sort of quota," Yates explained to Consequence.

    Some songs begin as simple mantras that stay in his head for years. When he considers adding more lyrics, he questions the necessity: "I always ask myself why, and sometimes the answer to that might be very apparent."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."