“I had a realisation that there is a system in place that is responsible for me feeling burned out and exhausted, and where did that come from? Do other people feel that way? Do they come to the same conclusion I am coming to?”– Ryan Struck
Punk- particularly hardcore- has an illustrious history of cataloguing political events and getting involved in the big tasks of organising, educating and encouraging fans to think critically. And the hardcore punk discography can tell a story of global events from an untold perspective- how political reigns from Thatcherism to Trump; conflicts from Iraq to Nicaragua and every day capitalist mechanisms affect all of us on the ground and at the (figurative) coal face.
As we start 2025, there’s a strange feeling that everything is changing- drifting faster and faster into a dystopian, right wing hellscape- whilst simultaneously staying the same. I.e, the same old boogeymen need to be fought- the themes of tyranny, oppression, discrimination, exploitation and imperialism are still depressingly apposite.
As we enter the Trump Presidency 2.0, the scale of the fight ahead is daunting and demoralising. So where do you go for solidarity and incitement that’s contemporary and unequivocal? Enter Scary Hours.
Originally a solo acoustic project by New Jersey native Ryan Struck, the pandemic and a newly sober lifestyle meant a change of direction and a different kind of catharsis was needed. Hence, Scary Hours pivoted to a hardcore band, inspired by our punk ancestors of the 1980s and the hard hitting energy reflecting the frantic need for release:
“I started doing this[Scary Hours] in the pandemic. I got sober in 2019 and then I got back in touch with a lot of the stuff I grew up listening to. I think because I was sober for the first time since I was 16 years old, I reconnected with my favourite Dischord records and I picked up where I left off with hardcore music specifically. And it touched me in a way I hadn’t felt in years- I needed that visceral energy and catharsis and started writing hardcore songs and didn’t know what to do with them. We were all seeing systems fail in real time during the pandemic and I wanted to channel that feeling. And people really connected to it. I started putting it out there and fast forward a couple of years, and I have a full band [Struck is joined by Joe Pugsley on bass, Nick Andriuolo and Mike Greene on guitar and Joe Billy on drums] and we’re playing shows.”
And it is no wonder people are connecting to it- both at live shows and in the band’s recordings. Scary Hours sit musically within the hardcore tradition of heavy, loud, combative and sonically immense sound, but Struck has taken the convention of politically-leaning lyrics (a la Dead Kennedys, Propagandhi, Leftöver Crack etc) and run with it. Each track on the new LP ‘Can’t Contend’ is bursting with references, observations, exposures and commentary on a variety of issues both personal and societal. Scary Hours make no bones about their politics- anything written about them will highlight the band are resolutely anti-Capitalist, pro worker and anti-oppression of any kind. And their lyrics are noticeably specific- there’s no generic ‘fuck authority’ sloganeering or politics-by-platitude. Struck knows his history and is precise when describing the problems as he sees them. And there’s a good reason for this- he is keen to make their music’s meaning clear and leave no room for ambiguity lest his message be hijacked by very different actors who also may have a problem with authority:
“When I started writing political music, I always knew I didn’t wanna be that generic lyricist. Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘Fuck Authority’ by Pennywise, “fuck authority/silent majority/ raised by the system/now it’s time to rise against them” – I mean, it is not really saying anything but it is still fucking great! But if we sang something like that, you could apply it to libertarian types and that is not us, so I always want to be clear. I write the lyrics and I don’t want someone twisting my words which you can do when you’re talking about this more vague shit like ‘fuck authority’. You could use that in a different way and I don’t want that done with my music, which is why I have specific references in my songs. I think about labour struggle all the time and we didn’t get labour gains like the 8 hour work day without a fight. I wanna be specific that we back these leftist movements so don’t take my shit and use it for whatever agenda you have in mind”.
The lyrical content of ‘Can’t Contend’ reads like a textbook of left wing thought and causes- you could do worse than pore over the lyrics to keep abreast of some of the major contentious issues of the day- police brutality, the pacifying effect of consumerism, the imperial war machine…Across eight tracks the band keep the anger and energy high. How can the nuance of the lyrics be maintained and expressed live? Does Struck use some inter-song patter to make sure his audience know what he is shouting about?
“I try to keep it brief live because everything is so loaded. I do make it clear “this song is about racist killer cops. It is not a few bad apples, they are all bad apples”. And if that is not for you, then you can go. Our set is over in 20 mins that’s fine, come back later. But I will make it clear. I have been moved over the last few months watching the Palestinian genocide, it is horrifying, fucking harrowing and so a lot of the stage banter has been in relation to that and if you are on the fence, you’re gonna be uncomfortable. But isn’t that the whole idea?”
Some people may be uncomfortable being confronted with the reality of war and power but other people- a lot of other people- may find comfort, reassurance and support through Scary Hours’ existence. Struck is keen to be for someone else what bands like RATM and Crass were for him- a political education, a shake of the shoulders and an extended hand of solidarity. And it seems that for the next generation in particular- those who have grown up perhaps knowing nothing but unprecedented catastrophes, widening inequality and an increasingly hostile and dumbed down culture- are crying out for this kind of punk:
“I live for people coming up to me after the show and it happens more lately. More and more at shows, people wanna chat and connect. Last night in Philly [where the band played a live gig] some young kid wearing a Minor Threat shirt came up to me and said he misses political punk. Another kid said they had been having a difficult time and it took everything to get out of the house that night but now they feel motivated and wanna do something. That is powerful. You go to a show and see kids that are connecting- they’re taking pictures together and hugging and experiencing that catharsis in a pit, picking each other up… It is inspiring to me.
There was a reel that was posted to Instagram and it was an anti-capitalist band playing in a skate park and kids were going crazy! Crust punks by the 100 just going OFF- some were moshing, some hugging, some drinking beers and burning American flags. I went to the comments and people were commenting ‘what is the point, you’re not doing anything constructive’ blah blah…But there needs to be a valve for this energy. People are hopeless now and they need to blow off the steam so they can function. So they can continue to afford to eat and work and also, when it does come time to organise, they can think clearly and not just throw a brick through a window for no reason. There needs to be that emotional catharsis to burn off the negativity and THEN we can organise. I think this is something that had been lost over the years.
What we will see now, is the reaction of the right wing govt and see it in the clubs and basements and kids will start turning out and they are pissed”.
And they’ve got good reason to be. At the time Struck and I spoke over Zoom it was one day before the Trump inauguration. At the time of writing this up, only one week has passed since then and already there have been 50+ executive orders signed, mass ICE raids across the US, withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, a demonisation of DEI initiatives and a myriad of other sweeping reforms that are an astonishing display of performative cruelty. This is the sort of world where punk can provide a literal lifeline- a community and a message that reaches through your phone/computer/record player/boom box (I don’t know where people listen to music now?) and tells you ‘you’re not alone and you’re not imaging things’.
‘Can’t Contend’ has already garnered a string of positive reviews and for good reason. It’s timely and pertinent in an overall socio-political way; it’s urgent and angular in a musical way. It sprawls out as it goes on, diversifying the sound whilst never losing pace or intensity. There are tracks that are pure emotional release such as the title track which runs for just over a minute and a half. And there are sophisticated tracks with a different rhythmic pattern and slight groove such as ‘Fever Dream Dossier’ which pays homage in its cadence to Struck’s beloved hip hop.
There’s a long road ahead to protect the things in society we thought were agreed upon as essential for decent living such as liveable wages, human rights and freedoms that are now all under threat. But in order to do the big stuff, you’ve gotta soothe your soul as best you can and for Struck, this is what the punk scene has done for him and he hopes could do for you too:
“We want to make changes so we need to organise strikes, boycotts and direct action. But in order to do that, we have to do the other thing too, we have to find a release. I found it in our scene, in music. I found my steam valve”.
‘Can’t Contend‘ is out now via Pyrrhic Victory Recordings. You can get your streaming purchasing options HERE and check out the band’s back catalogue HERE.
