Only One Mode

• Track Listing

2024 release. To catch everyone up: Australian hardcore band Speed is putting their foot down on the world. For hardcore kids from Sydney, which is where Speed's from and what they represent, this is a first. Everyone in the band has been going to shows for years-"real moshers," always up front, dancing. During a lull period in their home scene-"there were no new bands going on"-the guys stepped up and tapped in. Speed decided to start out hard and traditional-a high-level aesthetic decision that, every five years, an all-time hardcore band does. A reset. For their first year, the group referred to itself on flyers and in interviews, as two words-Speed HARDCORE-to make things extra simple. This is what they're about: Hardcore, played hard, played fast, "for us, by us"-explicit, immediate, definitive-hinting at all the crucial bands that have come before them. Their debut full length, ONLY ONE MODE, exemplifies their growth and distillation. It's a concept album in one sense: a manual that explains, directly, Speed's beliefs, the five guys' personalities, what they bring to the table, what's special about their scene.

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