New York City hardcore icons, Shutdown, are currently prepping to drop their new record, By Your Side. The six track EP is due to land on January 17th, via Equal Vision Records. They also recently shared the second track from the upcoming release, “Untouchable,” with an official music video. Check it out and find out more below.
Pre-order By Your Side here: https://equalvision.bandcamp.com/album/by-your-side
Given the state of the world right now, the community, optimism and hope these songs offer is not just important, but truly revolutionary and necessary. True to its title, it’s a companion, a friend, something to turn to when things get tough — because things always get tough. These six songs are a vital reminder that they also get better. “That positivity is just how we roll,” guitarist Steve DellaCroce summarizes, “because it helped us when we were angry teenagers. To this day, when we write songs, we write them for us and whoever likes it likes it, but obviously it speaks to a lot of people and it’s helped us survive this long as humans. So it was essential to keep that message going with this EP.” Frontman Mark Scondotto adds “There’s a lot of hope on this release. I really think that’s what the world needs right now.”
By Your Side tracklisting:
01 Our Time
02 By Your Side
03 Untouchable
04 Is This The End
05 Another Day
06 What Are You Thinking
There are some bands that are just like old friendships — even if you haven’t spoken (or written music) for a while, you can pick up right where you left off. It had been an incredibly long time since New York hardcore outfit Shutdown had written a record together — 24 years, to be precise — but one listen to By Your Side and it’s almost as if that time has never passed. It’s not an understatement to say that the music those same four guys are making now is as essential and necessary as anything from their past, offering an important dose of hope despite the times. Recorded by longtime friend (and unofficial fifth member) Jerry Farley, the EP begins with “Our Time,” a powerful hardcore anthem about seizing the moment, before the uplifting positivity of the title track kicks in. It’s a song that ruminates on the importance of community — something that’s always been at the center of the band — and is a profound reminder of the strength and power in unity.
It bleeds into the righteous anger and self-belief of “Untouchable.” That’s followed by the heavy angular riffs of “Is This The End,” a track that seeks new beginnings from the ashes of what was. Cleverly, that’s embodied and manifested immediately after by the melodic yet frantic “Another Day.” The EP comes to a close with “What are You Thinking?”, a song inspired by bassist Dion DeNardo’s son being diagnosed with autism, and which confronts and comes to terms with the challenges that his diagnosis posed.
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