Fiddlehead

Fiddlehead emerged as a post-hardcore supergroup whose muscular attack carries distinct emo undercurrents. Composed of veterans from the Massachusetts punk outfit Have Heart, the Boston unit initially tracked what they viewed as a solitary endeavor, the emotionally raw Springtime and Blind LP of 2018. Unexpectedly buoyed by fervent listener reactions, the members opted to continue, producing two subsequent full-lengths: the bracing Between the Richness in 2021 and the reflective Death Is Nothing to Us in 2023.

After Have Heart disbanded, vocalist Patrick Flynn started composing material alongside his roommate, guitarist Alex Dow. Soon the lineup expanded to include Alex Henery, formerly of Basement, on guitar, bassist Casey Nealon, and drummer Shawn Costa, a prior Have Heart colleague. Working within a post-hardcore framework that echoed eighties emo, Fiddlehead issued their debut, the 2014 EP Out of the Bloom, on the modest Lockin Out imprint. Four years elapsed before the musicians reassembled for a complete album. Grappling with the loss of his father, Flynn channeled that sorrow into the songs that formed Springtime and Blind, issued by Run for Cover. The release exceeded the band’s modest projections, generating a substantial audience. In 2019 a 7-inch appeared featuring “Get My Mind Right” backed with “Stay in the Room,” as the group began shaping its next collection. Exploring comparable emotional terrain and sonic contrasts, Fiddlehead delivered the rousing Between the Richness on Run for Cover in 2021.

The musicians promptly resumed activity, again enlisting producer Chris Teti for a suite of tracks that meditated on loss, mortality, and moments of uplift. Referencing thinkers such as Lucretius and Jean Améry alongside the band Bad Brains, Death Is Nothing to Us sharpened the human dimension of Fiddlehead’s approach without diminishing its forceful impact.