Give You Nothing

In the contemporary speed-fest that is the current reigning Skate Punk and Melodic Hardcore scene – and I say scene in a symbiotic sense – bands will champion either style or seamlessly blend and cross over these two Punk music sonic-stalwarts as often as they wish to varying degrees but often in a recognisable ‘Melodic Hardcore’ whole. Santa Cruz natives Give You Nothing are very much a part of this but do so somewhat enigmatically within this community of sound.

What am I uttering and barely coherently at that? Well, with this second release and debut full-length, Give You Nothing, rather than adhering completely to what is considered Melodic Hardcore as standard, construct their own variant via a pure and far more grass roots mix of classic Skate Punk and US Hardcore with just a dash of 90’s west coast Pop-Punk sensibility. - Ear Nutrition

Give You Nothing blends together classic melodic skate punk and hardcore seamlessly into their own unique sound, directly pulled from the music and sounds they grew up listening to. - PunkNews

This is a melodic hardcore punk album... but the song writing makes it stand out. - Crannk

Any fans of skate punk or melodic hardcore or good music in general will love these guys! - Punkanormal Activity

It’s kind of cool to be on the receiving end of a pleasant surprise every now and again. I’d class this joint from Santa Cruz crew Give You Nothing to sit squarely in that category. I believe they take their name from the Bad Religion song. Given that the press material cites some of my favourites as the bands’ influences, I was both intrigued and somewhat wary (Descendents, Kid Dynamite, Propagandhi, Face To Face, Dag Nasty, Avail, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Reach The Sky, Jawbreaker, Dillinger Four, Samiam, etc… since you are curious. I mean, obviously fuck Face to Face, being the masters of turning great musicianship into instantly forgettable buckets of everlasting meh, but you get my train of thought I think).


This all makes for a fairly tidy package which manages to also maintain a variety to the record, whilst remaining true to the overarching sound aesthetic. Very cool. Tony of Nurgle rating: 9/10. - Apathy and Exhaustion