Songs for the Willow

One Step Closer signal a sea change with Songs for theWillow. With last year's This Place You Know, the bandhad already mastered a unique stripe of mournful melodichardcore informed by eclectic emo influences. But onSongs for the Willow, they've tapped into a dynamic,emotionally powerful, and sonically intricate post-hardcorespace inhabited by the charged aura and artistic nuance oflandmark early 2010s records like Title Fight's Floral Greenand Touché Amoré's Is Survived By. But ultimately, Songs forthe Willow moves this sound forward into new territory.While frontman Ryan Savitski explored clean singing on ThisPlace You Know, he expands his vocal repertoire furtherhere, pushing himself to an even wider range of styles andmethods, from soaring highs to breathy lows and rousingharmonies. He makes for a spirited lead and consistentpresence while guitar work from himself, Ross Thompsonand newcomer Colman O'Brien weave sundry, compellinglayers, never content to linger on one riff for too long."All three songs revolve around the problems that touringso much this last year have caused," Savitski says ofthe thematic melancholy running through the EP. "Losingrelationships, losing band members, losing a sense ofwhat this band even means to everyone." Savitski is stillgrateful for the growth his band experienced-they madememorable appearances on some of hardcore's biggeststages (Sound and Fury, This Is Hardcore, and Outbreakfestivals), supported scene staples on tour (Comeback Kid,Drug Church, Terror), and had This Place You Know landon respected publications' Best of 2022 lists (Stereogum,BrooklynVegan). But Savitski also recognizes the sacrificesthey made along the way, and that struggle imbues itself inthe EP's desperate tone. "I feel like this last year was the firsttime we've truly felt like a real band, but there were so manyissues underlying that it made it hard to enjoy a lot of things."All along, there's an insistent, relentless forcefulness to eachperformance. After already cementing themselves as thebest young band reviving genuine melodic hardcore, OneStep Closer have now proven themselves as virtuosos of theimpassioned post-hardcore mini-epic.