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Unsweet.

by Hassle

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    Super soft and comfortable Next Level t-shirt printed direct to garment so it doesn't feel like you've got a big heavy ink spot on your chest. Comes with a download of Unsweet and saves you a couple bucks.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unsweet. via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    5 remaining
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Do you drive an old car, but not so old that it has a tape player? Do you trust the music industry but not the streaming industry? Is your smartphone broken? Did you forget to pay your Spotify bill?

    Then you, yes you, should get a copy of our beloved (by us) 2020 record "UNSWEET." in the form of a compact disc!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unsweet. via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD or more 

     

1.
2.
I left the TV on so I wouldn't sleep alone. Anxiety by moonlight is an awful way to go. Everything I know, everything I thought I knew -- I'm wide awake at 3 a.m. and it all comes back to you. And it's hard to get by sometimes. And it's hard to close your eyes sometimes. I'm tired. I'm always waking up at sunrise every day Looking for some magic in the color on the waves. Everything I know, everything I thought I knew Goes completely by the wayside when I'm staring back at you. And it's hard to get by sometimes. And it's hard to close your eyes sometimes. I'm tired.
3.
Wax Figures 02:59
Something’s not right I set the needle down and turned off the machine There’s still enough leaves on the lawn that fell from the same tree You’ve got an act that I just don’t believe I’m keeping axes sharp and in close company If they let you down If they let you down If they let you down, swing from another branch and be free Or hold on to your money and get out of the way Laughed when I heard about the dead weight left on your shelf Harder than it seems to try to separate the art for yourself But there’s always someone who had it worse Much more than paper and wax is worth What have you got to lose? Nine out of ten you’ll never feel a thing If they let you down If they let you down If they let you down, swing from another branch and be free Or hold on to your money and get out of the way
4.
First Frost 03:25
There's a place I don't wanna be. There's a word I don't wanna say. And there's a face I can't remember. There's a blur where I can see her. There's a dream I don't wanna see Where I'm choking on my teeth, Sweating through a T-shirt While my bones breathe in the winter. There's a game I don't wanna play Where I burn away another day And the stain is growing deeper. I'm born to be a dreamer, and I'm fine. I wanna break away, make something of my own. And I'm fine. Yeah, I'm fine. There's a star I don't wanna fade, A grace I don't wanna say, A star that's coming closer, Space where there was closure. There's a feeling I don't wanna know Where I'm broken down and slow And I'm praying for the thunder, My bones breathe in the summer. There's a place I don't wanna be. There's a word I don't wanna say. And there's a face I can't remember. There's a blur... I wanna break away, make something of my own. And I'm fine. Yeah, I'm fine. Goddamn, nothing like some pocket misery To wake you up before the snowfall covers everything. All I ever needed was guitar string poetry, A beat that you can dance to and some words you wanna sing. I'll tear my throat to tatters and I'll throw it all away. For the first time in a while, I think I'm gonna be okay. I think I'm gonna be okay. For the first time in a while, I think I'm gonna be okay.
5.
I watched the sunset slink behind the sea A chain link fence wrapped around the block kept everyone at bay You saw the high rise come up from nowhere A middle finger to your memories After the rain water brought all the portraits down And hats off to you to hold a ghost in high esteem Leave your candles out at night for the body I watched the sunset slink behind the sea A chain link fence wrapped around the block kept everyone at bay You saw the high rise come up from nowhere A middle finger to your memories After the rain water brought all the portraits down And hats off to you to hold a ghost in high esteem Leave your candles out at night for the body And hats off to you if there’s nowhere else you’d rather be Get your time in now before it goes back to the sea
6.
I live in the real world With the good, the bad and the Nazis. Some bridges should be burned. Allow me to light the fucking match. "We're in this together," At least that's what I'm told. But I should've known better Than to trust commercial rock-'n'-roll. If this is "punk rock," you can count me out. If this is "underground," can someone dig me out? There's no such thing as "unity." There's no such thing as "unity." And if we're gonna make it, There ain't no time to hide Because this may be the fight of our lives. I live in the real world And you're not fucking welcome. Roll up the red carpet. This is time for taking sides. We're in this together But you're tearing us apart. Collapse under the pressure Instead of speaking from the heart. If this is "punk rock," you can count me out. If this is "underground," can someone dig me out? There's no such thing as "unity." There's no such thing as "unity." And if we're gonna make it, There ain't no time to hide Because this may be the fight of our lives. I live in the real world With the good, the bad and the Nazis. I live in the real world With the good, the bad and the Nazis. I live in the real world With the good, the bad and the Nazis. And this may be the fight of our lives. I live in the real world.
7.
Clock runs fast I squeeze in little breaks, whatever fits Cup of coffee, get up, stretch my legs Red light blinks for unchecked messages Now caffeine fills the gaps on my creative lapse Turn the power off and back on Feels like nothing I do matters at all Back in the cave Fluorescent lights aren’t so flattering If you love it, does it feel like work? Is that the best thing we deserve? I oscillate around the room Try to find my next best point of view Turn the power off and back on Feels like nothing I do matters at all
8.
There's a ___. There's a ___. There's each other In a world That's burning 'em up from the outside in So fast they can't go home again. They stare into each other's eyes And watch the sky catch fire. They sing in the light pollution: "What's the point of falling in love when the world's falling down around us? What's the point of sticking it out when the world's getting torn in two? I guess I'd rather go down with you." And then there's you And there's me And the endless summer catastrophe. Always war And disease And we're losing grip on reality And it's burning us up from the outside in So fast we can't go home again. Let's stare into each other's eyes And watch the water rise. We'll sing in the light pollution: What's the point of falling in love when the world's falling down around us? What's the point of sticking it out when the world's getting torn in two? I guess I'd rather go down with you.
9.
Grew up tough but born with fragile bones Heard from older brothers how the world should work Can’t help but think of you in a parking lot With your sharp tongue spitting poison barbs You’ve got so much left to figure out You’ve got so much left to learn Now everything looks different down a narrow scope And their best defense is “learn to take a joke” Soon teeth will fall out, and backs get sore Come around to visit but you don’t live here anymore You’ve got so much left to figure out You’ve got so much left to learn Tiptoed around the jaws of dinosaurs You’re got so much left to learn
10.
On A Hook 02:37
I got overheated, head explodes Steam came out my ears, got me provoked Smell of burning rubber in the air Soles got all torn up, threads worn and bare Sitting on the sidewalk getting weak While you’re inside the house counting sheep Skin is flaking off from the weather Give me less to do or get your shit together We’re all just on a hook getting dragged along Maybe yours looks just like mine Things were going good and I knew you would Catch me on another at some time I got overheated, head explodes Steam came out my ears, replaced by smoke Bed made out of concrete in the yard Part me out and leave me in the dark We’re all just on a hook getting dragged along Maybe yours looks just like mine Things were going good and I knew you would Catch me on another at some time
11.
Another day, another dozen children fall Another recurring nightmare in America. They're screaming for their lives. "How many need to die before you open up your eyes?" Another day, another moral quandary Another chance for him to show humanity. His phone's ringing off the hook And in a perfect world he finally makes good: "I swear to god, I'm gonna take a stand this time. I swear to god, I'm gonna give back every cent. If it's the last thing I ever do, I'll draw a line in the sand And say 'never again.'" Another week before the dominoes start to fall Another week before the breaking down the wall They heard 'em loud and clear "There's not a reason why you should have to live in fear." Another week, another month, a year away Celebrating the first Independence Day Since the body count slowed down In a perfect world, in a perfect world... "I swear to god, I'm gonna take a stand this time. I swear to god, I'm gonna give back every cent. If it's the last thing I ever do, I'll draw a line in the sand And say 'never again.'" Another day, another dozen children fall. Another recurring nightmare in America. They wake up from their fantasy And wish for a day without a daily tragedy. Another day, another dozen children fall Another recurring nightmare in America. They're banging down the doors Because a perfect world, that's worth fighting a fucking war. And you can choke on the Constitution. They're just fucking guns And your thoughts and prayers help no one. You let the terrorists win, Caved to the NRA -- my god, you let those terrorists win. Another day, another dozen children fall. Another recurring nightmare in America. Another day, another dozen children draw A line in the sand and say, "Never again."
12.
The man on the TV says that it’s gonna rain all day But if you looked outside you’d see the patterns never change Now you’re sedentary and nothing makes you happy Tapped on the glass but it never made a sound Don’t go falling in Shift the blame but you know what you did Come close to the edge Shouting curses in the dark again I don’t want to carry home The nervous preparation for every thought you can’t have on your own Always been the same way Something in the blood that I can't forgive, hope it never brings me down with it Could’ve said I knew what to expect But the worst thing hasn’t happened yet Could’ve said I knew what’s inside your head But the truth is anybody’s guess Don’t go falling in Shift the blame but you know what you did Come close to the edge Shouting curses in the dark again

about

We spent most of 2019 writing and rehearsing and recording the punk rock record of our dreams. We wrote songs about growing pains, even in your thirties. We wrote about the ways punk rock failed us. The ways punk rock saved us. Late nights. Early mornings. Gun control. Climate change.

The record was called “Unsweet.” And just as we sat down to mix it, the world began crumbling down around us.

The COVID-19 pandemic wrote a chapter (at least) in the history books of our generation. A police state built on a history of systemic racism continued to make its presence felt, murdering another string of Black people in cold blood. Our leaders remained ignorant, unmoved and downright malicious about it.

At home, we lost jobs. We fell ill. We were stranded apart from each other, as many as thousands of miles away.

This is the environment in which, almost eight months after we recorded the first notes, we’re releasing “Unsweet." No label. No team. Just three friends playing music, and another one recording them.

As a band, we believe that art and artists can and should stand for something and never shut up about it. So for whatever our little tiny speck of this community is worth, here’s what we’re planning on doing:

Every dollar raised from “Unsweet.” will be donated to nonprofits on the front-lines of the fight against racial and social injustice within our police system. Every Friday, Bandcamp doesn't take a cut of the sales -- a great day to buy the record.

Fuck our bottom line.

credits

released July 3, 2020

Recorded & mixed by Marc Critelli in two different houses in New Brunswick, NJ & Cranford, NJ from November 2019 - April 2020.
Mastered by Bill Henderson / Azimuth Mastering in May 2020.
Cover photo by Dr. Ellen Bernhard

HASSLE is:
Mike D. - guitar/vocals
Allon L. - bass/vocals
Luis L. - drums/¡dos! ¡tres! ¡va!

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