Songs to Scream at the Sun

Different approaches and sub genres 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, Massachusetts' Have Heart. The group is certainly not trying to reinvent the hardcore wheel -- in fact, they sound very similar to vintage hardcore bands from the ‘80s. But that said, in a day and age where 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 takes 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 can count on Have Heart for delivering no-B.S. hardcore time and time again.