One Step Closer, Anxious, and Koyo all bring an intensely cathartic, heart-on-sleeve approach to hardcore that feels like getting pierced in the gut. It’s what made them such a good fit to go on a triple co-headlining tour across the U.S. earlier this year — and the run was so nice that they decided to do it all over again this summer with Minneapolis alt-rock greats Prize Horse opening all of their shows. Swinging across more than a dozen cities, OSC brought songs from their excellent second album, All You Embrace, to life, showing off their vulnerable side through soaring, earnest bangers while still proving capable of throwing down chaos. Meanwhile, Koyo fired off tracks from 2023’s Will You Miss It?, whereas Anxious pulled out their recent single “Down, Down,” as well as cuts from their buzzy debut, Little Green House. Behind those sweaty performances, though, are a lot of hours spent carting from one venue to the next, which requires a proper soundtrack to keep spirits high. As the run draws to a close this week, members from the three melodic hardcore crews told us about what they’ve been blasting on the road — from the pop excellence of Sabrina Carpenter to CANDY’s weirdo heaviness.
Read more: Drain want you to embrace the past, present, and future of hardcore
One Step Closer
Third Eye Blind – “Never Let You Go”
This song is the epitome of a windows-down summer anthem! Usually this band gets van karaoke started. We always play their self-titled on long drives, but occasionally we will slip in some Blue or Out Of the Vein if the mood is right. —Colman O’Brien
Jackson C. Frank – “Blues Run the Game (7” Version)”
This is the first song off American Troubadour, which is one of my favorite summertime records. On long drives where it’s just open road, this is the record. I plan on swimming and fishing a lot this tour as well, and this will be the soundtrack for those activities. —Ross Thompson
Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”
This song is insanely catchy and just puts me in a crazy good mood. I listened to this like every day on this last U.K./EU tour, and it was sick. I’ve been on a massive pop kick recently. I think her new record is about to be massive. —Ryan Savitski
Anxious
Modern Color – “Dancing Waters Club”
Vince [Nguyen] is the goddamn goat. This is catchy as hell, no cap. —Jonny Camner
CANDY – “Dancing To The Infinite Beat”
This is probably my favorite material from CANDY to date. A ton of weird Aphex Twin/Warp Records-style breaks/synths/beats all over this record. This song is the highlight to me. —Grady Allen
L’Envol – “Alcest”
The record this song belongs to blends a lot of styles that would seem at odds with each other with an eloquence that makes you think they never should have been apart. I’m reminded of M83 and Darkthrone in equal measure, and all the trappings of atmospheric black metal blend with the uplifting instrumentalism and beautiful vocals to create something truly refreshing and unique in an often stagnant and repetitive genre. —Tommy Harte
Cursive – “Sierra”
What I really like about this song, and this Cursive record in general, is that they somehow manage to keep you satisfied while never giving you the obvious hook. This song in particular always manages to stay an arm’s length away from the typical chorus but is so dynamic that every single payoff moment feels just as big. It’s a really interesting piece of songwriting that’s also highly fulfilling. Lyrics are really great as well. —Sam Allen
The Smashing Pumpkins – “Cupid de Locke”
A really beautiful Pumpkins song with all the flowery words and sounds — as decadent as chocolate cake. —Dante Melucci
Koyo
Charli XCX – “Sympathy is a knife”
Song of the summer, no contest. Chorus is unbelievable. Whole record goes so hard. —Harold Griffin
Foreign Hands – “Conditioned for a Head-On Collision”
My favorite song and chorus from their new record, What’s Left Unsaid. Easily the best band doing this style. They nail the hard parts and the melodic parts, a perfect blend of metalcore and hardcore. Makes me feel like I’m listening to ’90s/2000s Trustkill/Victory. —TJ Rotolico
Downward – “The Waltz”
The band keeps getting better and better with every release, and “The Waltz” from their split with Trauma Ray is a testament to that. A sonically alluring masterpiece that I truly can’t get enough of. You’re doing yourself a great disservice if you don’t already know about this band. —Sal Argento
