"Punk rock is a youth movement." These words sum up what makes Future Primitive an important band to me. When I was in high school and lived in Greensboro, I boiled with frustration that my band at the time, a scrappy thrashcore band, was not only one of the handful of fast/angry bands in our city, but we were possibly the only one with a band primarily made up of teenagers. While we had a handful of friends who liked and supported our music, I could never shake the feeling that our age was a gimmick to the older kids, who verbally would pat us on the head for refusing to sing catchy hooks or play at a mid-tempo. I wish so badly that a band like Future Primitive was around at that time, to stand in solidarity as a group of kids refusing to be placed into a quaint "cute kid" role, and have fun and let go, fulfilling what punk rock needs to be (at least to a degree). These guys are in their late teens (I believe around 18-19), and are already light years ahead of what the jaded has-beens are achieving. These guys have only been a band for a few months now, but they are already "top 10 NC bands" material for me. This is a band that needs to be heard.
Residing somewhere between hardcore punk, melodic hardcore, skate punk, and the smallest hint of emo, FP has a remarkably fresh sound. While you can certainly tell these guys have heard their fair share of pop punk, they synthesize it with raging Kid Dynamite-esque hardcore that is simultaneously angry, emotional, and even fun.
Maintaining a heavy skateboarding aesthetic, particularly that of the Bones Brigade (which I consider to be the golden age of skating). FP harkens on a visual level to classic bands such as JFA, Aggression, and early 90s Fat Wreck/epitaph bands, but FP pays both homage to this classic merger, but also has a sense of vitality and immediacy that feels neither contrived or nostalgic.. Much as can be true with punk rock, there seems to be multiple skateboarding scenes, some of which are polished, pretty, and corporate, and then there is the edgy, underground, and gnarly underground scene. It's pretty clear which one FP takes inspiration from.
Future Primitive has the potential to make serious waves, as they stand in an interesting place in the punk spectrum. So many audiences can find something to love in this EP. Whether its the octave heavy guitars typically found in pop punk, the raging 2-4 beats of melodic hardcore, the harsh screams of west coast hardcore, or even occasional 90s emo interludes, this could be a band that could create a bridge between the factions. This EP has a sense of completeness and an amazing flow between tracks, which don't necessarily have a stand out track, but instead feel like a single piece of music holds together tightly. I only hope that these guys don't lose the aggression in favor of a more palatable sound, and push their style to an even more sharpened sword, to become one of the voices of Greensboro Hardcore (along with Holders Scar and Born Hollow) that they deserve to be.
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