Have Heart
Songs To Scream At The Sun

For those who live for hardcore punk "New School", and therefore bands like Verse, Betrayed, Comeback Kid, and the like, this name should not be new. After the excellent album "The Things We Carry," one of the best Hardcore Punk bands on the scene at the moment, Have Heart, returns. Now you're probably wondering what has changed in two years, right? Well, the special thing about bands like Have Heart is that they manage to play a simple and direct genre like hardcore punk, in a thoughtful and committed manner. This has been very appreciated lately, as evidenced by the latest full lengths by bands like Verse (RIP) and Comeback Kid, which have taken hardcore to a level that was never thought possible.

Compared to the previous album, we have, as I said, a somewhat more thoughtful approach (not that the previous one wasn't). We have the usual fast-paced tracks shot in pure hardcore style, and we also have more thoughtful and sometimes cadenced hardcore tracks. For those like me who devoured "Aggression" by Verse or "Outlive" by Guns Up! this new, more thoughtful form of hardcore punk should not be a surprise. But let's get into the album itself and the first track "The Same Son," which is more of an intro than a track but already shows us that HH remain faithful to their HC roots. Barely a moment to breathe, and here comes "Bostons," a purely hardcore track very much in the style of the "Latest Verse" but also with more classic riffs. Without a doubt, one of the best moments of the album. With a relentless drumbeat starts "Pave Paradise," an excellent piece, especially the bass and guitar work shines. Here, you can see how an apparently simple genre like hardcore can be very structured. Truly a beautiful piece. With "One the Bird in the Cage," we have the first full-on hardcore blast in your face that very much reminds of the opener from the previous album (also stunning), here the drums are at full throttle before slowing down at the end into a bridge that is almost poetic alongside the singer's voice.

"Brotherly Love" is certainly the best-structured piece on the CD, and this would be a song to play for those who think that punk hc is a "simple and banal" genre. "No Roses No Skies" begins with a fantastic guitar riff that gives you chills and makes you want to turn up the stereo even more, transitioning from purely hardcore parts to more thoughtful and cadenced sections. Truly notable the level of creativity in this song. Perhaps the most "angry" track on the album is this "The Taste of the Floor," 50 seconds of unprecedented Hardcore anger where once again the bass stands out, above all. "Reflection" is an entirely instrumental piece where at moments you can slightly hear the singer's voice. Truly an evocative and very deep piece. "Hard Bark on the Family Tree" is the penultimate track on this album, which in my opinion may be the only subdued track of the full length, but still a nice piece. The last track is "The Same Sun," a track that begins with a masterful drum work and later arrives at a sonic wall followed by the singer's screams. The end of the track and the entire full length is followed by the singer's screams accompanied by shrill guitar background. The choruses in the middle of the song are especially beautiful.

So we've reached the end, essentially a really great album even if perhaps a notch below the previous one. What truly must be recognized is the excellent structure of the tracks and therefore the great songwriting. An excellent album, especially for those who want to get closer to the genre, highly recommended (retrieve the previous one if you don't have it yet) certainly one of the best releases in this field, well done Have Heart!