Have Heart

From the very beginning, Boston’s HAVE HEART always asserted the band would have a very limited lifespan. All the same, when they announced their dissolution at the beginning of the month, hardcore fans were left no less stunned at a disappointingly abrupt end for a band who, it was felt, were yet to reach their peak.

The future of Have Heart always seemed to be balanced on a knife edge, and when I spoke to vocalist Pat Flynn in Indianapolis, midway through their US tour with Polar Bear Club last month, he was understandably noncommittal about further plans. “I dunno…,” he considered, when asked about the possibility of a third full length. “I know we’re definitely going to write another EP, it’ll be out in the fall, but as far as another LP…” he trailed off. “We never even expected to write an LP, let alone a second LP.”

In fact, it seems the members (Pat, bassist Ryan Briggs and current guitarists Kei Yasui and Ryan Hudon, and drummer Vincent Conti) never expected much more from Have Heart than a couple of local Massachusetts shows as a diversion from their other bands of the time. Beginning in 2002 as straight-ahead youth crew band - “kinda like a Youth of Today covers band” - they quickly moved beyond these restricted parameters, before 2006’s much-lauded The Things We Carry, their debut LP, signalled their arrival.

The follow up, 2008’s Songs to Scream at the Sun, brought another musical departure for the band, mining a slower, heavier vein compared to the breakneck pace of Things... The album divided opinion, though ultimately seems to have won over far many more than it may have put off. All this is, of course, of no consequence to the group.

“We’ve been alienating people since we fucking started,” Pat laughs. “When we wrote The Things We Carry that really alienated the whole youth crew audience we’d built up. When we wrote our second record we wanted to play around and let other influences like Helmet, Far, Deftones through - stuff that we love outside of the traditional hardcore realm. That alienated people too. But whatever; it’s worked for us, we’ve kept ourselves happy and as far as I know, every tour we do has only gotten bigger and bigger. So we must be doing right in terms of people responding.”

Described by Pat as “a very short, abridged version of The Prodigal Son. About growing up, coming to life,” Songs to Scream at the Sun should prove a fitting swansong for Have Heart. They should be proud, bowing out on top and on their own terms. Not many bands can claim that.

On their final Australian tour, Have Heart will hit the Tuggeranong Youth Centre on Wednesday May 27, supported by Carpathian and locals Vera and I Exist. The show is all ages and tickets are available from Moshtix outlets and www.moshtix.com.au. Songs to Scream at the Sun is out on Bridge Nine via Stomp.