H20 – Use Your Voice

With just two original albums in the past 14 years, H20 aren’t exactly the most prolific of punk rock groups. Despite the long wait, their last release, Nothing to Prove is widely regarded as the strongest in their catalogue. The covers release provided an interesting gap filler, but it has been a long wait for fans of the band, making it seem like they are the hardcore version of Guns n Roses. However, unlike Axl’s aural mess, the release of Use Your Voice proves that H20 continue to get better with time.

All of the familiar parts of their music are still present, from the lyrics about keeping a Positive Mental Attitude to the melodic blend of hardcore and punk. The album is short and fast, decidedly more aggressive than its predecessor, raging fast and wasting little time. The majority of the songs clock in under two minutes, with none reaching three minutes in length. Toby Morse is arguably the nicest guy in hardcore, spreading a message of unity and equality in a scene that is too often dragged down with a tough guy meathead mentality. While the band have traditionally avoided political discussion in their music, the title track is a rallying cry of support for disillusioned youth (with a subtle nod to their musical idols Youth of Today). Their political leanings are more in line with hardcore than punk, tackling topics like self-empowerment and community. They do however address racism and rioting on “Still Dreaming,” a plea for solidarity in the face of divisive events in the U.S. On “Popage,” Morse celebrates his love of music, including mainstream pop sounds. Those who follow his social media already know that he is an unapologetic fan of Katy Perry and a fan of music in general and he defends his tastes eloquently here. His love of pop culture shows up again on closing track, “True Romance,” which is the sweetest hardcore love song ever yelled, using the line from the movie You’re so cool! to express his love for his wife who has supported his career for decades. While Nothing to Prove was a collaborative album, with an excessive amount of guest artists, the band made the conscious decision to streamline the process this time.

One of the common threads through H2O’s albums is inside nods to friends and heroes. They pay tribute to Youth of Today and The Descendents on the title track and “Popage.” Musically, despite their longtime connection to the New York Hardcore scene, the band continue to have a more melodic sound than their peers, more in line with Gorilla Biscuits than Agnostic Front. The positive hardcore lyrics are one of many reasons to enjoy this album, which feels more uplifting than a majority of the music coming out in recent times. While it feels like the short 20 minutes fly by (shouldn’t this technically be an EP at that length?), this is a solid addition to the all too small discography of a great band who are only getter better 20 years into their career.