How often can you say that a band is so good at their genre that they would only water down a record by adding in a ballad? Barely Here is the blistering sophomore effort from Long Island hardcore band, Koyo, and they do what they do best by charging through ten melodic punk rock tracks with absolutely no ballads to be found. The second LP from Koyo sticks to the basic theme of wanting to find human connections at a time when attention spans seem to be at their shortest. Barely Here was produced by longtime collaborator Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain, The Story So Far), and features two guest spots in the sequencing from Sammy Ciaramitaro of Drain and Marisa Shirar of Fleshwater. “I think we’d learned so much about our process from making Would You Miss It? that we knew exactly what we wanted going into this one and it came together with more of an instinctual kind of magic to it,” explains lead vocalist Joey Chiaramonte. “A lot of bands think their second album has to be this magnum opus epic that sews so many things together, and I think we’d actually taken more of that approach with our first LP. So with Barely Here we wanted to do the opposite of that trajectory–we wanted to refine our strengths instead of doing this purposeful departure. It’s a snapshot of what our band is in its most no-frills, perfected form.” I couldn’t agree more with Chiaramonte and his bandmates’ approach to their second full-length record, and it pays off widely on Barely Here.

The new EP from Koyo comes hot off the heels of their well-received debut LP, Would You Miss It?, and features two re-imagined songs from their catalog, plus a new song indicating where they can take their sound in the future. Mile A Minute impresses by showcasing what this band is capable of creating when they strip away most of the energy behind their songs and get to the core of what makes Koyo unique. “Ten Digits Away (Deluxe)” kicks off the record with an acoustic guitar-based approach, and vocalist Joey Chiaramonte dials back his trademark growl to a smoother approach that took me back a bit in its crisp delivery. The expanded song comes from a previous EP of the same name, and acts as a great companion piece to the original, while adding in some piano and other backing instruments to round out their sound.

”Greetings from this island life” is how lead vocalist Joseph Chiaramonte of Koyo sets the stage on “51st State,” the opening song from the band’s stellar debut LP Would You Miss It? Formed in Long Island, New York by five childhood friends who grew up together—Chiaramonte, guitarists Harold Griffin and TJ Rotolico, bassist Stephen Spanos, and drummer Salvatore Argento showcase their growth as a band that has released several marquee EPs that led them to this moment in time to finally deliver their most dramatic artistic statement to date on their first full-length record. The set was produced by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Regulate, One Step Closer) and it features some collaborations with Glassjaw, The Movielife, and Vein.fm to keep things remarkably interesting. Koyo have been road warriors as of late, having shared stages with I Am The Avalanche, Bayside, and No Pressure, and this live experience pays off widely on a set of songs that blast off of the speakers with vibrant energy. With such great momentum going in this band’s favor, Koyo could very well be this year’s breakthrough artist in the genre, much like how Turnstile knocked everyone on their collective asses with 2021’s Glow On. Would You Miss It? is filled with slick hardcore hooks, and showcases a band coming into their own at just the right moment in time.