Pears

In the mid-2010s the New Orleans punk quartet Pears arrived with sudden force, channeling unbridled hardcore aggression through a strictly independent approach. Fat Wreck Chords noticed the quartet soon after the 2015 appearance of their opening album, Go to Prison, and promptly added them to the roster. Later records such as 2016’s Green Star and the self-titled 2020 LP reflected both greater compositional focus and an expanded sonic range.

Zach Quinn on vocals and Brian Pretus on guitar—each previously active in the Lollies—launched the group alongside bassist Alex Talbot and drummer John Bourgeois. Days after forming they issued the EP …In Diapers. Their debut full-length was completed in a single day and released on their own; the resulting ten-song, twenty-one-minute Go to Prison unleashed a rapid-fire punk assault that recalled a more feral Descendents and Suicidal Tendencies while also featuring an aggressive reading of the Ramones’ “Judy Is a Punk.” Once signed to Fat Wreck Chords, which reissued the album in July 2015, the band cycled through drummers—John Bourgeois was succeeded by Tim Harman, who in turn was replaced by Jarret Nathan of Push Up. The two-song EP Letters to Memaw surfaced in September 2015, its tracks later surfacing on the follow-up album. Before that sophomore effort appeared, extensive touring throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia brought further lineup shifts: Pat Decline of the Australian band the Decline temporarily replaced John Komar, who had himself taken over for founding bassist Talbot. Through these changes the group ultimately secured Erich Goodyear as permanent bassist.

Green Star arrived in April 2016, emphasizing the heavier side of the band’s style with a bloody hardcore punk sound reminiscent of Fucked Up’s earliest recordings. In 2017 Pears paired with Direct Hit for the split album Human Movement. Returning to the studio yielded the 2019 single “Comfortably Dumb,” which appeared on the band’s third official LP, Pears. Produced by Chris Fogal, the self-titled set introduced a noticeably tighter and more controlled aesthetic.