Just before the pandemic, the ultra-energetic Koyo emerged from the Long Island hardcore scene with a fired-up take on their region’s long history of emo and melodic hardcore. Once they were able to get out on the road, Koyo hit the ground running, and they released their full-length debut Would You Miss It? in 2023. Last year, three Koyo members started up the hardcore side project Love Sick and release the cool-as-hell album I Am No One Now. This spring, Koyo are coming back with a new LP of their own.
For their sophomore LP Barely Here, Koyo went back to work with Drug Church/Drain producer Jon Markson. The record has appearances from Drain’s Sammy Ciaramitaro and Fleshwater’s Marisa Shirar, and frontman Joey Chiaramonte says that the band isn’t trying to fix what’s not broken with this one:
A lot of bands think their second album has to be this magnum opus epic that sews so many things together, and I think we’d actually taken more of that approach with our first LP. So with Barely Here, we wanted to do the opposite of that trajectory – we wanted to refine our strengths instead of doing this purposeful departure. It’s a snapshot of what our band is in its most no-frills, perfected form.
You can hear that philosophy at work in the driving, recklessly catchy lead single “Irreversible.” I love that there’s this fun, catchy, sensitive music that still might make you want to suplex your best friend. The song’s video goes down at a backyard mosh party that looks like a fun place to be. Below, check out that clip, the Barely Here tracklist, and Koyo’s extensive list of upcoming shows.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Barely Here”
02 “Jet Stream Wish”
03 “Saying Vs Meaning” (feat. Sammy Ciaramitaro)
04 “It Happens To The Best Of Us”
05 “You Hate Me”
06 “Selden Mansions”
07 “Oxidize” (feat. Marisa Shirar)
08 “What I’m Worth”
09 “Pace And Loiter”
10 “Irreversible”
TOUR DATES:
2/05 – Southhampton, UK @ Engine Rooms *
2/06 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington *
2/07 – Manchester, UK @ Club Academy *
2/09 – Glasgow, UK @ The Garage *
2/10 – Newcastle, UK @ The Grove *
2/12 – Liverpool, UK @ District *
2/13 – Leeds, UK @ Project House *
2/14 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy 2 *
2/15 – Kingston, UK @ Fighting Cocks *
2/18 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix Club *
2/19 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Dynamo *
2/20 – Cologne, Germany @ Gebäude 9 *
2/21 – Hamburg, Germany @ Logo *
3/03 – Providence, RI @ The Strand Ballroom & Theatre ^
3/05 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia ^
3/06 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia ^
3/08 – Ottawa, ON @ Rideau Carlton Casino ^
3/10 – Toronto, ON @ History ^
3/11 – Toronto, ON @ History ^
3/13 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE ^
3/15 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee ^
3/18 – Prior Lake, MN @ Mystic Lake Casino Hotel ^
3/19 – Fargo, ND @ Fargo Civic Center ^
3/21 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre ^
3/22 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre ^
3/24 – Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Convention Centre ^
3/25 – Tsuut’ina, AB @ Grey Eagle Event Centre *
5/30 – Kawasaki, JP @ Bloodeaxe Festival
6/04 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacob’s Pavilion #
6/05 – Lafayette, NY @ Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards #
6/09 – Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall #
6/10 – Richmond, VA @ Kanawha Plaza #
6/13 – Asheville, NC @ Asheville Yards #
6/16 – Asbury, NJ @ Stone Pony Summer Stage #
6/17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE #
6/20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre #
6/21 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center #
6/23 – Patchogue, NY @ Great South Bay Music Festival
* with Arm’s Length, Ben Quad, & Shoreline
^ with Rise Against & Destroy Boys
# with Hot Mulligan, Joyce Manor, & Saturdays At Your Place
Barely Here is out 5/8 on Pure Noise. Pre-order it here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source stereogum.com ’
