The Turning Wheel (album) Last updated January 03, 2026 Composition The Turning Wheel has been noted for fewer elements of dark wave and gothic and more of progressive pop compared to Mazy Fly , Spelling's previous release. [ 5] For instance, album opener "Little Deer" pulls from jazz pop and "plush" 1960s lounge pop , [ 2] while "Emperor with an Egg" takes on chamber pop . [ 2]
The album itself is divided into two parts, subtitled Above and Below . [ 6] Above , beginning with "Little Deer" and ending with "Emperor with an Egg", [ 7] has an overall brighter sound [ 8] while Below , beginning with "Boys at School", has a darker tone. [ 9] [ 6] [ 8]
Critical reception The Turning Wheel was met with positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the release received an average score of 79, based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [ 4] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [ 1]
Track listing All songs written by Spellling .
Above "Little Deer" – 5:39 "Always" – 5:14 "Turning Wheel" – 3:33 "The Future" – 3:27 "Awaken" – 4:31 "Emperor with an Egg" – 3:09 Below "Boys at School" – 7:28 "Legacy" – 3:51 "Queen of Wands" – 5:21 "Magic Act" – 5:40 "Revolution" – 5:59 "Sweet Talk" – 3:33 Personnel Credits adapted from Tidal . [ 14]
Musicians
Noor Al-Samarrai – choir Rita Andrade – viola Monica Benson – flugelhorn , trumpet Calliope Brass Quintet – brass Ted Case – string arrangements Jennifer Hinkle – bass trombone Donia Jarrar – piano Milo Jimenez – acoustic guitar Nick Marchione – brass arrangement Sara Mayo – trombone Jinty McTavish – violin Dharma Mooney – choir Macgregor Munson – banjo Brijean Murphy – conga drum Erin Paul – horn Lidia Rodriguez – baritone saxophone Javier Santiago – piano Rebecca Steinberg – flugelhorn, trumpet Sabrina Tabby – violin Ezra Teshome – choir Carolyn Walter – bassoon, clarinet, bass clarinet Del Sol Quartet – strings Technical
References 1 2 3 "The Turning Wheel by Spellling" . AnyDecentMusic? . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 . 1 2 3 4 "Spellling – 'The Turning Wheel' review: her most accessible record yet" . NME . June 23, 2021. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021 . 1 2 "SPELLLING: The Turning Wheel" . Pitchfork . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021 . 1 2 3 The Turning Wheel by Spellling archived from the original on July 9, 2021, retrieved July 9, 2021 1 2 Simpson, Paul. "Spellling – The Turning Wheel" . AllMusic . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 . 1 2 3 "Spellling: The Turning Wheel – album review" . Louder Than War . July 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 . ↑ Cabral, C. (2021). [Liner Notes]. In The Turning Wheel [CD]. Oakland: New Improved Recording. 1 2 3 Cohn, Ben (June 28, 2021). "Album Review: The Turning Wheel" . Beats Per Minute . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 . 1 2 "Spellling – The Turning Wheel" . Uncut . Retrieved July 9, 2021 . ↑ "SPELLLING goes from cult leader to crowd pleaser on her epic third album Turning Wheel" . The Line of Best Fit . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021 . ↑ "Spellling – The Turning Wheel" . Loud and Quiet . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 . ↑ Johnson, Steven (June 25, 2021). "Spellling – The Turning Wheel" . musicOMH . Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021 . ↑ Arnone, Joey (June 24, 2021). "Spellling – The Turning Wheel" . Under the Radar . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 . ↑ "Credits / The Turning Wheel / Spellling" . Tidal . June 25, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021 . This page is based on this
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