Hard Feelings have gone soft. Their latest album opens with a vocal jazz oldie “Connecticut” – until the Connecticut-based hardcore group get tired of ancient, saccharine tunes and blast The Modernaires back to the 40s with pure hardcore fire. Hard Feelings are tough as nails, but they have the tight musicianship and historical knowledge to take on even the snobbiest hardcore critics.
It’s not a unique method of opening a punk performance. Better Lovers have started their set closer “30 Under 13” with a clap-along version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. But Hard Feelings use the crackly oldie to heighten suspense. Every listener who spins The Devil You Know knows what they’re getting into, and every time Hard Feelings kick out the jams at the twenty-seven-second mark, it’s like a bomb going off in the room.
For six and a half minutes, Hard Feelings grip the throat, shove you into a wall, and shout about how crushing the world is. It’s gritty; it’s groovy; it’s music to punch a wall to. Vocalist Zach McCormack sounds world-weary as he barks, growls, roars, and shouts his way through the EP. His enunciation is spectacular and sacrifices none of the grit of hardcore. Similarly, his bandmates – Jamie Malok and Mike Magas on guitars, Murph on bass, and Alex Malok on drums – are tight as hell, groovier than “Purple Haze”, and snarlier than a seventeen-year-old’s attitude.
“Hard Feelings are tough as nails, but they have the tight musicianship and historical knowledge to take on even the snobbiest hardcore critics. ”
Minced words don’t exist on this record. If you like your hardcore negative, this record is for you. Over the undeniable groove, Malok juxtaposes some of the weariest lyrics and attitudes in modern hardcore. Hard Feelings know how tough life can be, even if you’re in Connecticut on a village green, remembering childhood scenes, so Malok doesn’t engage in self-pity or absolute despair. This is hard-nosed reporting on life.
The eponymous “The Devil You Know” closes the album and ends with a headbanging groove right into thirty-one seconds of The Penguin’s 1955 song “Devil That I See”. The devil you know is better than the one you don’t, and the devil you see knows that the jig is up. He’s not dragging this band without a fight.
While their 2021 outing Fight to Survive was also crushing, Hard Feelings have leveled up with The Devil You Know in every facet – except in its length. This release is not three times longer, and that’s a tragedy. Otherwise, this Connecticut hardcore group’s third EP is engaging, groovy, and cathartic from the first second to the last. Hard Feelings are more than ready to break out from the underground and rage alongside the heavyweights.