Different approaches and subgenres may infiltrate hardcore music every so often, but you can always count on a select number of purists to wave the "straight-edge" flag loud and proud. Case in point: New Bedford, MA-based
Have Heart. The group is certainly not trying to reinvent the hardcore wheel -- in fact, it sounds very similar to vintage hardcore bands from the '80s. But that said, in a day and age when it's arguably more common than ever to start softening your sound in hopes of crossover success, there's something quite noble in
Have Heart's approach, as displayed throughout their harder-than-nails 2008 release,
Songs to Scream at the Sun. Frontman Pat Flynn is your typical hardcore barker, as evidenced by such ditties as "Bostons" and "No Roses, No Skies." And even when
Have Heart take the intensity down a notch or two -- such as on the track "Brotherly Love" -- it's still more intense than your average up-and-coming hardcore band. Although it's still relatively early in their career, you get the feeling from
Songs to Scream at the Sun that you could count on
Have Heart to deliver no-BS hardcore time and time again. ~ Greg Prato