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Five tracks of furious hardcore punk on the debut EP from Richmond's HAIRCUT. Originally formed in nearby Charlottesville, VA (and opening countless shows at the legendary Magnolia House), Haircut released a strong demo at the end of 2016 before landing just down I-64 in Richmond. The speed and precision displayed across "Shutting Down" is rarely captured so well on a band's first record, but the execution on these five tracks (all of which burn through in 60-90 seconds) is hard to match. Just as essential to this release are Juliana's tireless, outspoken lyrics (both in English + Spanish) and vocal delivery which echoes from a very candid perspective often missing in contemporary punk and hardcore. A standout EP devoid of any gimmickry or trend-worship. Simply pure, classic hardcore punk. Housed in a glue pocket sleeve featuring artwork from Shiva Addanki plus lyric insert.
Our take: After an excellent demo, here’s the debut vinyl from Haircut. In the months since their demo I believe that the band has moved from Charlottesville to Richmond and, as is evident on this record, have largely shorn their sound of melody (the demo had a real Brain F≠ vibe in places) and gotten a lot faster and tougher. In fact, I can’t think of another recent release that so closely recalls the “peak No Way Records” era… back then it seemed like everyone was experimenting with some combination of Direct Control’s crossover-influenced riffing and Government Warning’s alternately pop-infused and blindingly fast hardcore, and Haircut sound like they could be coming from a similar place. The riffs are definitely interesting and the rhythm playing is super solid, but even without the emphasis on melody I think the vocals are what really sets Haircut apart. Juliana just has one of those voices that you want to sing along with, and that certainly sticks out in a genre that tends to be dominated by fairly uniform shouters and screamers.