Album Reviews

Formed in Santa Cruz, CA in 2015 by a couple of veterans of the Bay Area hardcore and punk scene, Give You Nothing were first noticed when they released the ‘Your Revolution’ EP in 2016 and then continued to make a name for themselves with the release of 2019’s self-titled debut full-length and playing shows with the likes of Bad Religion, Face To Face, Agnostic Front and H2O to name but a few. Rather than live up to their name, they started working on what would become ‘Songs For The Broken’ during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recorded with Zack Ohren (Machine Head, Set Your Goals, Ceremony, Heartsounds) over the course of the Summer of 2021, the songs on the new album find the band reaching back to the sounds of the 90’s skatepunk and melodic hardcore they grew up on. The result is 13 songs worth of solid riffs, catchy melodies and plenty of singalong moments that will remind you of everything from Face To Face and H2O to Pennywise and Ignite.

Sure, these guys are not rewriting the rulebook here, but they know their way around a strong melody and cuts like the title track, ‘The Hardest Part’ and ‘Under Shadows’ are solid throwbacks. Some of the songs may start to somewhat blend together after a while, but that doesn’t stop Give You Nothing from oozing riffs, melodies and positivity non-stop.