HAVE HEART - SONGS TO SCREAM AT THE SUN

On August 8th, 2006, HAVE HEART crept up and attacked the entire hardcore scene with their debut album “The Things We Carry.” The band’s first full length received positive feedback, many hailed it as the “Hardcore Album of the Year.” HAVE HEART had not only successfully created a name for themselves but for hardcore in general. Few other bands at the time were producing such energetic, youthful, honest songs at the time. The well respected straight edge five-piece from Boston, Massachusetts created one of the most faithful fan bases across not only the nation, but across the world. They were destined to be popular from the very start. Now they bring us their second full length, “Songs To Scream At The Sun.” In most cases sophomore albums are the major factor in determining whether or not the band will progress or fall apart. HAVE HEART has succeeds in creating the most personal, the most dark, and the most meaningful hardcore album written in recent years.

While hardcore itself has progressed and changed in the past 3 decades, the message has still remained true. HAVE HEART could have wrote a generic album about how they hate their jobs, or politicians, or their relationships, but instead they focus on what means most to them: their straight edge lifestyle and one influenced them to live a life of purity. Bostons is essentially a summary of the album. This song delivers some of the personal and powerful lyrics ever put into a hardcore album:

“o' your friends say boston's beautiful,
but they didn't live hard, they didn't die hard
when sons dragged out their fathers from bars.”

Not since Minor Threat started the straight edge movement, has it been so well delivered. The lyrics come out like poetry, as if it being preached, but not begged. Honestly, I can’t remember the last hardcore song that has delivered such a powerful message in three lines.

Not only are the lyrics progressing, but also the song writing itself. While HAVE HEART has always had their distinctive style, they have strayed away from flat out hardcore, and it has vastly improved their sound. Their sound is more spine chilling and epic then ever before. The last album I heard that truly gave me a serious case of the goose bumps was Modern Life Is War’s “Witness.” On “Songs To Scream At The Sun,” HAVE HEART is not outfit to create such a unique sound, but they accomplish it very well. Instead of the same fast paced drumming, and lighting fast rhythm guitars, the slow it down, while still remaining as heavy as they did on their previous effort. There are no traditional breakdowns or 2-steps on this record, as they focus more on delivering a message, rather then fitting the mold. Whether it be the clean guitar intro to Hard Bark On The Family Tree or the vocal solo on The Same Sun the band is able to create a monumental piece of work while still remaining true to their hardcore background.

Overall, HAVE HEART’s “Songs To Scream At The Sun,” is not only going to be a strong contender for “Hardcore Album of the Year,” but it is arguably the best hardcore album in recent years. The only thing prevented this album from being a classic, is the fact it clocks in at around 21 minutes. You will find that this album goes by very fast, and in the blink of an eye it is gone. However the unfortunately short 21 minutes is packed with memorable songs, no fillers, meaningful lyrics, epic songwriting, and a message that is so strong it will make a binge drinker put the bottle down.



1.The Same Son
2.Bostons
3.Pave Paradise
4.On The Bird in The Cage
5.Brotherly Love
6.No Roses, No Skies
7.The Taste of The Floor
8.Reflections
9.Hard Bark on The Family Tree
10.The Same Sun

HAVE HEART - THE THINGS WE CARRY

The wait between Have Heart's EP What Counts and debut full-length The Things We Carry was long and full of impatience on my part, but as anticipated, the band have gone above and beyond my expectations. With undeniably earnest lyrics and a blistering, relentless pace, The Things We Carry sets the standards high for what modern day straight-edge hardcore albums should sound like.

For a seasoned Have Heart fan, two of the most important aspects that have changed during the two years between the band's EP What Counts and The Things We Carry are the clean production and lyrical improvement, though neither were enough of an issue in the first place to keep What Counts from being a solid EP. The Things We Carry is the product of a band who are wise beyond their years. While What Counts offered songs mostly discussing traditional hardcore material, The Things We Carry provides lyrics you don't have to claim edge or be passionate about the hardcore scene to appreciate. Hell, even a quote from E.E Cummings manages to appropriately fit into the album ("of a world that's doing its best, night and day, to make you (me) everybody else" in "Watch Me Sink").

The Things We Carry won't give you the chance to prepare for its intensity with how immediately hard-hitting the first track, "Life Is Hard Enough," is. You'll be given an opportunity to rest during the intro for "Watch Me Sink," but not for long as the track soon features stern, memorable shouts of "A breaking in spirit / a breaking in promise / a breaking in me." Another standout track soon follows with the powerful "Armed with a Mind." Lyrically the song shows off how mature the band has become through lyrics like "True beauty can't be seen with the eyes" and "Boy, your true strength sleeps behind your eyes." The words themselves don't sound overly eloquent, yet through the genuine passion and conviction in their delivery, a strong message is relayed.

Following the re-recorded, straight-edge anthem "Something More Than Ink" (originally from What Counts) is "The Machinist," featuring guest vocals from Sean Murphy of Verse which lend to the track's powerful appeal. Have Heart ends The Things We Carry at the strongest point possible with "Watch Me Rise." When you think the track is over it returns in full force to complete the message "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees." The sheer presentation of the vocals is nothing short of incredible, forceful and uplifting, while the track itself is exceptionally unique in melody.

It's impossible for words to do this album justice. The Things We Carry? Powerful, dynamic, and hard-hitting. Get into it.




1.Life Is Hard Enough
2.Watch Me Sink
3.Armed With A Mind
4.About Face
5.The Unbreakable
6.Old Man II
7.Song Of Shame
8.To Us Fools
9.Something More Than Ink
10.The Machinist
11.Watch Me Rise

HAVE HEART - WHAT COUNTS

With hardcore having somewhat of a revival, it’s almost hard to even keep track of all the bands forming and breaking up day by day. It’s even harder to keep track of bands individually with so many of them sounding identical.

With that said, Have Heart are a breath of fresh air. The band began playing in 2002, released a demo in 2003, and this EP, What Counts, in 2004. Now as they gear up to release their debut full-length through Bridge Nine, I’d like to call attention to a band who do traditional hardcore justice.

What Counts as a whole is an absolutely relentless attack on trend-hoppers, greed, and false friends. Their messages are relayed with conviction and sincerity, as portrayed in vocalist Patrick Flynn’s gravelly voice. Although the vocals are relatively unique, Have Heart throw some interesting melodies and time changes into the mix, slightly reminiscent of Youth of Today.

When it comes to the EP’s peak, the title track stands out among the rest with the lyrics “take a breath -- reawake -- call forth the dread in your way / subdue -- prevail -- triumph over every fucking day / to persevere through -- is what counts.” “Dig Somewhere Else” begins with slightly heavier vocals and more of a consistent, less melodic sound. “Reinforced,” a song originally by Outspoken, wraps up the EP.

If cheesy, two-step parts aren’t your thing, fear not: Have Heart only incorporate them once into the release, during “Something More Than Ink,” a song about the band’s lasting values, which are “something more than ink -- on a page, on a shirt, on the back of my hand / something written in stone, words we wrote in stone.” If the song material sounds cliché to the genre, don’t brush them off until you’ve heard the delivery.

Gang vocals make you want to give a stranger a black eye? Have Heart won’t overwhelm you. They appropriately scatter them throughout the release and don’t solely rely on them for appeal.

Despite What Counts only presenting four new songs with one cover and one song from their demo, it’s a powerful EP. A bit cleaner of production would have done this EP wonders, yet even without a richer, tighter sound, What Counts shows enormous amounts of potential. I can’t wait to see what Have Heart will do with more album time and a bigger production budget. Either way, Have Heart will be sure to remind you what counts in hardcore.



1. Lionheart
2. Get The Knife
3. Something More Than Ink
4. What Counts
5. Dig Somewhere Else
6. Reinforced

HAVE HEART - DEMO 2003

1. Intro / To Us Fools
2. Lionheart
3. About Face
4. The Worth
5. More Than Music (Verbal Assault)