PEARS is an up and coming hardcore punk band from New Orleans, Louisiana that released their debut album, Go To Prison in late June. If you are a listener of Off With Their Heads singer and guitarist, Ryan Young's Anxious and Angry podcast you would have heard him rave about this band and play some of their songs in episode 20.

Ryan Young was not wrong about raving about PEARS. It's very rare that a self—released debut album sounds this amazing and is this original all at once. Typically the songs on this record start with Minor Threat or Black Flag—sound verses, then transition into these extremely melodic choruses, and then the songs go back to being hardcore. This may seem like this can't be done without sounding disjointed and awkward, but this band does it without being any of those things. In fact they have mastered this art. Take the song "Terrible" as an example. This song starts out with this ominous hardcore sound that builds up a ton of tension until the song transitions into this melodic, but incredibly anthemic—sounding chorus with perfect back up vocals, and ends very quickly with the hardcore sound. The song "Forever Sad," instead of having one main melodic chorus, switches between the hardcore verses and the melodic parts several times, until they get to the perfectly placed Suicidal Tendencies Easter egg in the instrumental bridge.

To mix things up on this record, PEARS also recorded a cover of The Ramones song "Judy Is A Punk." They didn't turn it into a hardcore song, but they did make it their own. Their version of this song is faster, louder, and angrier than the original. Its definitely the most poppy—sounding song on Go To Prison, but PEARS added a much needed, updated edge to the song.

PEARS is an awesome band and they have an incredibly refreshing and unique sound that they have brought to the hardcore subgenre.