Rather Be Alone

If you read this blog you'll probably have realised that I haven't listened to much hardcore this year. Or at least, not for the first three months of it. But there is pretty much only ONE hardcore record that I did listen to throughout February and March, which was the debut full length from Californian straight edge band Power Alone. I was wanting to check out some of the music that Indecision Records had put out the past few years, and I chose Power Alone as the start point. Well, first play or two and I wasn't really overly impressed as it didn't stand out in any way. But I kept at it and during the third play it started to grab me. And then it became my go to hardcore record. In between all the pop punk I was listening to, when I wanted something a bit harder, I wanted to listen to Power Alone. So when I visited Indecision HQ, the Power Alone LP was at the top of my shopping list.

Whilst 'Rather Be Alone' is a pretty new record for me, it actually came out in 2020, so it's not really a new release. There were two colours of vinyl pressed, with the first 100 copies being on white vinyl. I was pretty lucky to have got one of these as it sold out long ago.

The white vinyl is hand numbered on the b-side label, which is a nice touch.

And despite me trying to cut down on the number of versions of records I am buying these days, I couldn't help but also pick up a pink vinyl copy too, mainly because pink is the best colour there is.

I'm not a huge fan of the cover art on this record. I mean, it's interesting, but I'm not sure I get it. But what I am a big fan of is the insert. Sometimes straight edge can come across as corny, but sometimes it's unashamed and proud and inspiring. I love this pic of vocalist Eva and the accompanying quote:

The quote reads as follows:

In precarious times, one thing will stand. This world will erupt, but I know who I am. My life will change, over time, but not my vow. I'll protect my mind. I am straightedge. My will is sure. I'll wear the X as the last fires burn.

This record came out literally a couple of weeks before the virus hit and sent everyone into lockdown. As a result of that, plus the fact that the members live quite far apart, the band haven't played a single show since the record was released. So there is no footage of them playing on youtube. So despite this record being an absolutely stunning hardcore record, it feels to me that they haven't made as much of an impact as they should have done. I really hope that changes this year, and I hope that by some miracle I can get to see this band play at some point.