EP REVIEW: Da Trifecta – Hold My Own

Seemingly insignificant moments can often be momentous, especially in a perfect storm such as hardcore where it’s as fertile as it has ever been. An unassuming three-track EP might not seem like much at first glance, but HOLD MY OWN’s latest offering Da Trifecta – a collaboration release between DAZE, Triple B Records and Streets Of Hate – is one that will make you blink twice at it. 

Not only is the EP a collaboration between labels, but HOLD MY OWN recruit the help of SPEED’s Jem Siow, Taylor Young of DISGRACE, and KNUCKLEDUST’s Pelbu. It’s got the backing, credentials, and the run length of just three short tracks to make the most avid of hardcore enjoyers have a cartoonish eye-popping moment. Opener Ready features gunfire overhead as a warning sign of the violence you’re about to step into and acts as an early declaration to HOLD MY OWN’s dedication to the culture in hardcore and a rebellious nature owed to individuality. 

So True To My Own couldn’t be a better track for Siow to feature on, sharing the sort of down for life and loyal messaging that a lot of SPEED’s material does, hasty drums and claustrophobic riffs alongside the blended vocals of Siow and Young create a united front in the most powerful and unwavering track on the EP. Slip closes with a joyous two-step tempo, even in a release less than nine minutes long it’s inescapable to not fit something into the mix that would result in a bloody pit. 

Da Trifecta really epitomises the past, present, and future of hardcore. With glimpses of classic styles, and the collaboration of some of the most exciting acts in the genre across the globe, it cements that the genre’s upward trajectory isn’t going to decline or slow down anytime in the near future. The extent of this collaboration alone is indicative of just how tight knit the subculture really is; it spans continents and languages, styles and beliefs, but you can bet that if someone is asked to pull up and feature on a track, or help out with writing (see ONE STEP CLOSER’s All You Embrace and HAYWIRE’s Conditioned For Demolition) they will. Most importantly what HOLD MY OWN do in just three tracks alongside their peers is expose other genres for their lack of connection between their participants and love for the culture created around its music. Da Trifecta is a spectacle to behold and one of the most exciting releases of the year.

Rating: 10/10

Da Trifecta is out now via DAZE, Triple B Records and Streets Of Hate.

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