Baltimore’s Doubt are on your head with their new EP, Held In Contempt, out July 12 via Get Better Records. With their single "The Hard Way," the newest Get Better Records band kicks the door in from the first second with fast, pummeling drums as vocalist Claire Abila contemptuously snarls at objectification. Each portion of the song is optimized for the dancers, as Doubt evenly pairs fist-pumping punk with slamming mid-tempo hardcore. There’s nothing missing from this song, or the entire EP. If you don’t feel the need to move to this, check your pulse.
Baltimore hardcore punk is the best it’s been in over a decade, and Doubt is next in a wave of new bands emerging from the under appreciated city. Ferocious and untameable, Doubt keep the mid-tempo traditions that their forebears, Trapped Under Ice, championed, but balance it with doses of speed uncommon in East Coast hardcore. With their new EP Held In Contempt, Doubt is a manifestation of the area’s promise for future excellence.
Doubt takes cues from West Coast punk like Ceremony and Trash Talk, showing over 6 songs that they fear no d-beat or technicality, but won’t sacrifice a stomping fight riff in order to shred. With a throat-decimating growl, vocalist Claire Abila shines as she delivers straightforward lyrics about revenge and reclaiming power against transgressors. Guitarists Logan Dorics and Jon Haire deliver every style of hardcore punk riffage a listener could want, while held in perfect step by bassist Pocholo Itona and drummer Nijol Benjamin. Produced with CORPUS engineer Aidan Elias, Doubt trekked to NYC, the birthplace of East Coast hardcore, and their thorough study of both hardcore and punk is a testament to their dedication to the art and their belief in themselves.
“Having something to channel all my passion into gives me a way to push myself creatively, interpersonally, and morally, and I always think that if I’m capable of succeeding with music, I’m capable of anything,” Itona explains.“If I’m able to be organized enough to perform and tour within DIY, there’s no reason I can’t organize politically and engage my community outside of DIY and punk.”
With Held In Contempt, Doubt forces nothing and offers everything, a breath of fresh air from a region with only intriguing possibilities ahead
