Long Island punk upstarts Koyo recently announced their sophomore album, ‘Barely Here,’ arriving May 8th via Pure Noise Records, and now they’re back with another kinetic new single, ‘What I’m Worth.’
Clocking in at ten songs in just 28 minutes, ‘Barely Here’ is a lean blast of incredibly anthemic punk that packs the firecracker guts of The Movielife, the widescreen hooks of Taking Back Sunday, and the tuneful grit of Silent Majority—but more than anything it sounds like Koyo themselves. Lead single ‘Irreversible’ highlighted the band’s mastery of bouncy tempos and big melodies, and now ‘What I’m Worth’ dives into darker waters with churning riffs and fiery vocals from frontman Joey Chiaramonte.
Koyo’s debut full-length, ‘Would You Miss It?’ drew acclaim from listeners and critics alike for their unabashedly heart-on-sleeve blend of punk, hardcore, and emo, and now ‘Barely Here’ hones that combination even further. “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. ” explains Chiaramonte. “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.” Produced, engineered, and mixed by longtime collaborator Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain, The Story So Far), and featuring guest appearances from Sammy Ciaramitaro of Drain and Marisa Shirar of Fleshwater, ‘Barely Here’ sounds like a confident band who know exactly what they want to make and excel at making it.
Koyo have will be celebrating ‘Barely Here’ with another round of truly relentless touring, including upcoming North American runs with Rise Against, Hot Mulligan, and Joyce Manor, a Japanese tour, and appearances at Sound & Fury and Louder Than Life. See full itinerary below.
Upcoming tour dates:
March 3rd – The Strand Ballroom & Theatre – Providence, RI
March 5th – L’Olympia – Montreal, Quebec
March 6th – L’Olympia – Montreal, Quebec
March 8th – Rideau Carlton Casino – Ottawa, Ontario
March 10th – History – Toronto, Ontario
March 11th – History – Toronto, Ontario
March 13th – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA
March 15th – The Sylvee – Madison, WI
March 18th – Mystic Lake Casino Hotel – Prior Lake, MN
March 19th – Fargo Civic Center – Fargo, ND
March 21st – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba
March 22nd – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba
March 24th – Edmonton Convention Centre – Edmonton, Alberta
March 25th – Grey Eagle Event Centre – Tsuut’ina, Alberta
May 30th – Bloodeaxe Festival – Kawasaki, Japan
June 4th – Jacob’s Pavilion – Cleveland, OH
June 5th – Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards – Lafayette, NY
June 9th – Archer Music Hall – Allentown, PA
June 10th – Kanawha Plaza – Richmond, VA
June 13th – Asheville Yards – Asheville, NC
June 16th – Stone Pony Summer Stage – Asbury, NJ
June 17th – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA
June 20th – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN
June 21st – The Andrew J Brady Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
June 23rd – Great South Bay Music Festival – Patchogue, NY
August 15th – 16th – Sound & Fury Festival – Los Angeles, CA
September 18th – Louder Than Life Festival – Louisville, KY