Normally, I like to spend my evenings on the couch with a book, which I inevitably put down sooner than I’d like to admit, only to end up watching videos of hardcore bands on YouTube. The chaos of No Justice, Carry On, Haywire, a little detour into the sheer incomprehensibility of Dillinger Escape Plan, and shedding a tear or two over Home Front and High Vis. If I ever accidentally become famous and the VPRO realises what a terrible mistake it was to take Zomergasten off the air, I know exactly which videos I’d show.

The fact that I’ve still got plenty of evenings to fill with this stuff is something to look forward to, too, because there are still plenty of bands and genres I need to dive into. More melodic hardcore is one of them. Comeback Kid, Modern Life Is War, Sick Of It All — I’m not familiar with them yet. Nagusame, on the other hand, I already know. They played winSUMMERfest, and that was a pretty good time. In my opinion, they’re also the perfect band for a gloomy November evening. Bummed out by the state of the world. Frustrated by how much you’d like to change about it, and how little you can actually do. Their new EP ‘I Want To Leave’ is full of that feeling.

“Shared sorrow is half sorrow,” as they put it in their motto for their shows. The perfect motivation for a gloomy Saturday in the basement bar. | Robert

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