By Ryan J Nims
(Fiddlehead L-R: Nick Hinsch, Alex Dow, Pat Flynn, Alex Henery, Shawn Costa)
Fiddlehead, the post-hardcore band from Boston, is still going strong since launching in 2018. The band is an amalgamation of musicians from other bands.
This includes members of Boston hardcore band Have Heart (singer Pat Flynn and drummer Shawn Costa), British alt-rock band Basement (guitarist/vocalist Alex Henery), Big Contest (guitarist Alex Dow) and Nuclear Age (bassist Nick Hinsch). While they wear their hardcore roots proudly, Fiddlehead has a more melodic sound, bordering on emo.
The band began with a Fugazi-inspired EP Out of the Bloom (Lockin’ Out Records, 2014). these raw songs are a good entry point into the band’s canon.
Fiddlehead really hit their stride with their full-length debut Springtime and Blind (Run For Cover, 2018), a collection of songs primarily dealing with the death of Pat Flynn’s father.
The songs are emotive and personal, broken up occasionally by spoken word or sampled sections such as “Rejoice” and the penultimate track, “04/17/70” which features Flynn’s mother discussing her future husband’s return from Vietnam played over a dreamy guitar track. The final song, “Widow in the Sunlight” closes the record on a high note, with the repeated phrase “May everything you lose come to find you.”
Fiddlehead – “Lay Low” (Official Music Video)
In October of 2019, the band released a single for “Get My Mind Right” (Run For Cover, 2019), a song which would be re-recorded for their second album, Between the Richness (Run For Cover, 2021). The sophomore album opens and closes with a reading by E. E. Cummings, and deals with Flynn becoming a father and navigating that stage of life without his own father. But there are also songs about not needing a college education to find your way in the world (“Down University”) and another spoken word track, “Life Notice,” featuring Flynn’s wife talking about her friend who died from an opioid overdose. The final track is true hardcorewith Flynn’s screaming “Gloria mortuis, Gloria vital” (Glory of death, glory of life).
Death is Nothing to Us (Run For Cover, 2023) is a statement on mental health and the glory of life. Opener, “The Deathlife” is a heavy punk song that leads into the single “Sleepyhead.” Both songs address the numbness of living with unmediated depression. “Sullenboy” deals with overcoming generational trauma and trying to be a good father.
Fiddlehead – “Sullenboy” (Official Music Video)
One of the standout tracks is “True Hardcore (II)” which is about gatekeeping in the punk and hardcore scene. It references the early Sebadoh song “True Hardcore.” “Queen of Limerick” is in part a tribute to Dolores O’Riorden of the Cranberries; it features some great harmonies by Flynn and Henery. The album’s final two tracks are brilliant, including the shoegazy “Fifteen to Infinity,” which is a conversation between Flynn and his wife and how their love is keeping him going.
Fiddlehead – “Fifteen to Infinity” (Official Music Video)
“Going to Die” is the final word on the album’s themes: the acceptance that everyone dies and thus one should live life to its fullest. In this song, Flynn references friends who have passed, dead poets who have inspired him, and of course his father. This song completes the trilogy.
On November 16, 2024, Fiddlehead played at Mohawk in Austin (with openers Touch Girl Apple Blossom and Nuclear Daisies). I don’t get to attend as many concerts as I used to. And, it had been years since I went to one by myself, but I wasn’t going to miss this one! Discovering some local bands was the icing on the cake. Throughout the evening, I met many of the members of the three bands between sets. Everyone was willing to interact. This atmosphere created a sense of community. Performers and audience members were all there to have a good time with some great music.
In June, Fiddlehead released their new EP Baby I’ll Change, (Run For Cover, 2026). It was, in part, inspired by the passing of Flynn’s mother. The opening track, “The Dogs” is a celebration of his friends and family, calling out his bandmates by name.
“Porchlight” is a straight-on rock song focused on relationship troubles.
“Baby I’ll Change” addressed addiction, a theme touched on in previous songs like “Give it Time (II)” from Death is Nothing to Us. The song starts out slow, before culminating in a cathartic finale.
Fiddlehead – Baby I’ll Change (Official Music Video)
Fiddlehead’s albums are all relatively short, but without filler. It’s just good punk rock that deals with different aspects of the human condition. Taken as a whole, the band’s discography is a meaningful library of touching songs. They address various stages of life, including death of a loved one, parenthood, or depression. Ultimately though, the message is one of positivity and acceptance.
All of Fiddlehead’s albums are available on the band’s Bandcamp page. Recommended for listeners of the Emo Diaries on Thursdays at 5:00pm on KOOP 91.7.
Editor’s Note: This article is adapted and expanded from a 2023 blog.