Tales from the Deep

LOUIS HARDY AND MAX HARPER TALK 27 MILES UNDERWATER, THE SECOND OUTING BY U.K. HARDCORE SQUAD HIGHER POWER. BUT WAIT — ARE THEY REALLY HARDCORE?

- Brad Angle

“WE COME FROM hardcore, but I don’t think of us as a hardcore band,” says Higher Power guitarist Louis Hardy. “I don’t listen to it and think this sounds like hardcore music. I just think of it as a rock band.”

One spin of the Leeds, England-based crew’s excellent new sophomore record, 27 Miles Underwater, and you’ll immediately hear what Hardy is talking about — and why their genre-defying sound has made Higher Power one of the most exciting new acts in hardcore punk. Take opener “Seamless,” for example, which kicks off with a crushing, groove-heavy riff and seething vocals before transitioning into a massive, dreamy Deftones-meets-Jane’s Addiction chorus. Higher Power explore this hook-filled, crossover sound throughout the album’s remaining 10 cuts — pushing the boundaries of traditional hardcore while staying firmly true to its spirit.

“Because [our] approach to writing catchy rock songs comes from a DIY hardcore mentality, it has a lot more integrity than just sitting down and [saying], ‘Let’s produce a big pop song… a catchy song that means nothing,’” Hardy says. “We’re so heavily invested, emotionally, and we’ve sacrificed so much to make the band work… The passion for it… everyone is living it.”

And if Higher Power’s current trajectory is any indication, the band — which also features singer Jimmy Wizard and his brother, drummer Alex, bassist Ethan Wilkinson and guitarist Max Harper — is on the verge of living larger than they’d ever imagined. After self-releasing their 2017 debut, Soul Structure, Higher Power caught the attention of Roadrunner Records, which signed them and released