Friday December 28, 2007. TGIF Sounds And Sights Inc. is the venue. As our car pulls up the atmosphere is perfect. As we walk towards the door we are bombarded with flyers, demos, and the occasional cigarette smoke. When we walk in the building my glasses fogged instantly. The first thing we can’t see is the band due to the fact there is a couple hundred plus kids inside the small room. When you are here, you have two choices. Stand in the back and enjoy the music, or hop into the piles ups and sing along, or maybe even dance a little. This is a feeling unlike any other. This isn’t Fall out Boy. This is what happens when HAVE HEART comes to your town.
My friend first turned me onto HAVE HEART when I started getting more and more into the hardcore scene. I would always represent our own Long Island scene although there are other great scenes such as California, and Florida. However Boston, Massachusetts is the only scene that has truly impressed me. The fans are so into everything that happens. People came down from Boston just to see them all the way down in Lake Grove, Long Island. Boston’s music: heavy. Boston’s fans: devoted, faithful, and brutal. The reason why HAVE HEART’s show was so violent and enjoyable is because their latest release “The Things We Carry” is one of the best hardcore albums I’ve heard in a long time. While not near as heavy as fellow bands such as DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR they deliver so much emotion and raw energy that only a true hardcore band can deliver.
The musicianship on “The Things We Carry” is what you could expect from a hardcore album. Fast paced punk complete with power chords, 2-steps and the occasional breakdown. However, I’m not saying that this album is generic at all. While influenced by fellow bands such as BANE and IN MY EYES they do have a unique sound that not many sound like. To fully understand the ferocity of this album takes less than 10 seconds. The opener
Life Is Hard Enough just goes full force punk in less than 2 seconds. Guitars blazing over a fast paced drum beat with the snare blasting in your head. You can tell that this band has such great potential.
There is however a short break in the form of the introduction of a song. The track
Old Man II (Last Words And Lessons Learned) starts off with a clean guitar intro. This is what I believe to be the downfall of the album (while others may disagree.) Cause after 30 seconds he heads right back into the fast paced punk you just heard in the past five songs. Some enjoy this “interlude.” I however think that this minor flaw brings the albums tone down a notch in a negative way.
Simply put, If you enjoy hardcore. BUY THIS ALBUM. It is incredibly catchy and enjoyable, and their live show is one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed this band for a long time. After finally seeing them live, my appreciation for them got a lot stronger.
4 / 5
RECOMMENDED TRACKS
Watch Me Sink
The Unbreakable
Something More Than Ink
Watch Me Rise
