Skip to content
Debut 7" of Portland crust in the 90s tradition.
In a time of nihilistic hardcore and intentionally non-sequential garage rock it is refreshing to find punk that hues to a political core. HOPE? echoes the anger and aspirations of the political punk of years past, but channels their rage and demand for recognition into messages that are present and necessary today. As the world crumbles around us we need bands like HOPE? to reinforce our small communities; raise out fists, dance, and shout our communal yearning, rejection, and solidarity.
Our take: We carried an earlier demo from this Portland band, and now their debut vinyl finds a fitting home on Minneapolis’s Desolate Records. The label’s description mentions Hope?’s 90s influences, and one stands out to me: Nausea. There are two singers, one with a demonic-sounding rasp and another with a guttural bellow, and the riffs are mid-paced and metallic, with longer songs that move through multiple musical sections, many of them built around powerful chanted vocals. If you’ve been enjoying Flower’s recent recorded output, this is in a similar vein, though they don’t have that bouncy element that so many Flower tracks have. A strong recording and palpable political conviction help Hope?’s debut EP to hit extra hard.
In a time of nihilistic hardcore and intentionally non-sequential garage rock it is refreshing to find punk that hues to a political core. HOPE? echoes the anger and aspirations of the political punk of years past, but channels their rage and demand for recognition into messages that are present and necessary today. As the world crumbles around us we need bands like HOPE? to reinforce our small communities; raise out fists, dance, and shout our communal yearning, rejection, and solidarity.
Our take: We carried an earlier demo from this Portland band, and now their debut vinyl finds a fitting home on Minneapolis’s Desolate Records. The label’s description mentions Hope?’s 90s influences, and one stands out to me: Nausea. There are two singers, one with a demonic-sounding rasp and another with a guttural bellow, and the riffs are mid-paced and metallic, with longer songs that move through multiple musical sections, many of them built around powerful chanted vocals. If you’ve been enjoying Flower’s recent recorded output, this is in a similar vein, though they don’t have that bouncy element that so many Flower tracks have. A strong recording and palpable political conviction help Hope?’s debut EP to hit extra hard.