How does one describe what differentiates a good hardcore band vs. something special within the space.
It's really difficult to explain but Haywire 617 has proven to be something special.
When boiled down to base elements Haywire is a hardcore band in the vein of something like latter day Blood For Blood (specifically their more Rock n' Roll/Oi elements with Rob singing). Much like fellow hardcore bands like Turnstile, Haywire took the work they've put in and chosen to sign with an arguably huge label in Roadrunner. Not many bands, hardcore or otherwise, turn up on a major label debut the way Haywire has. At under 20 minutes this full length is a grand introduction for Haywire into the broader world.
After a brief, calm intro from The Aggrolites we go straight into Haywire being Haywire, pushing a mix of OI, Melodic Hardcore, and emotional lyrics that betray the expectations given by their genre/style. You get 2 songs of this style in "That's Life" and the title track before a timebomb detonates within the tracklist. You get fantastic harmonies, helped by members of Nothing, that close the title track that help the melodies inherent in the song really sink themselves into your head. The everything becomes unglued... "Flex your Head" begins with a blast of the most obvious and forceful nod to their being a hardcore band in that it is no bs hard, fast and angry in a way that much of the record tends to stray away from. This gives a nice palette cleanser before the back half of the record keeps the energy and ideas from the record (sans "Flex..").
This may sound like a complaint but the record in itself is as mix of a summer record in vibe and a fall record in the lyrics. There is a huge energy and attention to melody and hooks that are truly rare in the genre space. Not a song leaves before building strong choruses, melodies, hooks and gang vocals that burrow in your head and give you the feeling of singing along in a pile up or diving off the stage with little concern for whether you're caught or not. The lyrics betray this as much of the lyrical base of the record has an air of break ups and sadness. I would argue this could be clearest in The Bouncing Souls-like dual vocal breakup song that is "Trouble in Paradise". This song leans into some of the fun that Haywire inevitably seem to bring to their songs.
I guess that brings me back to the thesis question I posed at the start.
What is the difference between a good hardcore record and a great one?
While I would prefer not to say much definitive but, whatever it is Haywire has it in spades on this album.
