Ian Kenworthy

As the saying goes, there’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’. Apparently there’s also no ‘U’ in Colorblind either, but of course this is the name of a band, and they’re not British. Hailing from Austin, Texas the four-piece has been labouring away for almost a decade and, after having signed with Solid State Records, they’re ready to their unleash their debut album. On the subject of grammar, its title contains two questions, but no questions marks; that means it’s a statement, but what is it saying?

Brazil’s top exports include coffee, petroleum, iron ore, frozen bovine meat and now Karen Dió. Snapped up by Hopeless Records for her 2024 EP ‘My World’ EP, she now has to prove success wasn’t a fluke. The pressure is on. You’ve probably seen the slogan, with its three little diagrams, maybe on a t-shirt – ‘This is a chord. Here is another. This is a third. Now form a band’. It encapsules the punk ethos, perfectly. Simple music, held together with attitude.

Letters. It’s all about letters. A series of handwritten thoughts, captured in time. When Crystal Park sat down to write the lyrics for Initiate’s new EP, she saw it as a series of intimate conversations, each signed with the valediction ‘With Love // With Rage’. In many ways writing letters seems at odds with circle pits, sticky floors and sweat-stained air but then Initiate aren’t your typical hardcore band.