Hook / Korupuhe split EP
Here we have two bands from Finland churning out two different styles of punk, and each of them nails their target dead fucking center. HOOK’s songs are chock-full of simple, catchy guitar solos and fast-to-slow parts, and they fit the usual pop punk themes, from breakups and downtrodden boys being bummed out about unrequited love to a catchy song about the devastation of war in the streets. This is one hundred percent the stuff I was loving in my twenties. KORUPUHE blasts in with two hardcore numbers that are annihilating and relentless. They check all the boxes of great hardcore with multiple singers, group choruses, stop-on-a-dime musicianship, and a perfect breakdown in the middle of the song. I am gonna take a break from this and go find out what other stuff these bands have available. If you like either pop punk or hardcore (or both), then this is the split EP for you.