Praise

Praise from Washington, DC

Beneath every blast of feral hardcore is a sense of melody—not a three-part harmony or earworm hook but the right mix of pace, phrasing, and a heap of intangible passion. Formed as a five-piece unit in the Greater D.C. area, Praise’s mission statement has been to work within the box of traditional hardcore while exploring the bounds of melody in every possible sense. This means more than splicing power chords with catchy accents but rather, mining the work of the masters inside and outside of the genre and immersing themselves in the roots of those who changed hardcore’s sound and boundaries.

But it doesn’t stop there. Along with their love of the rich history of Washington, D.C. hardcore punk, Praise’s sound darts and dashes through scenes, decades, and genres, united by the core tenets of a catchy song and the impulse to deliver a message. From ‘80s Minneapolis power-pop and Dag Nasty to The Cure and Leatherface, along with sprinkles and nods to traditional guitar-based pop, the result is springy hardcore that travels with urgency while exploring the themes of introspective struggle, imagining a better world outside of our own, and the evolution of grief throughout the years.

Starting in 2010, Praise released a string of 12” and 7”s bent on honing the golden ratio of angst and aria but it wasn’t until 2017, while recording “Return To Life” with Brian McTernan, that they found a co-conspirator who could use the studio setting to add the depth of sound they strove for.  

Enter All in a Dream, the third LP from Praise and their debut release on Revelation Records. Recorded at Developing Nations in Baltimore, Maryland with producer and engineer Kevin Bernsten, All in a Dream finds Praise stretching their sound and craft throughout the album’s nine tracks. Additionally, McTernan acted as a second producer, focusing on song structure, vocal performances, and creative solutions that resolve ideas and turn a song into a journey. 

As the lead single and title track “All in a Dream,” narrates, “There’s no more black and white, this world is in full color,” Praise’s latest album is bursting with ideas and intentions, layered with a thoughtful brush dipped in past, present, and future. 

The tone is critical, hopeful, and solutions-based, focusing on realization as the beginning of an inner journey. “I tried to run but couldn’t get away, I tried to leave but still I stayed. It follows me in everything I see, so close to hold but it’s just out of reach" sings Norton in “Hotline to Memory,” tapping into that dire struggle, adding an epitaph to doubt on the album’s B-Side track “Limited Sense of Possibility” with the line "People aren’t one thing, we can grow… we can change.”

The end result is an album that reflects Praise’s most actualized self: a filterless expression of coming to terms with loss, an overwhelmingly difficult world, and how these struggles change who we are and the choices that we make. Backing these lyrical themes are instrumentals that bridge, bend, and bind the seemingly disparate influences of five distinct individuals united by sound, structure, and the pursuit of melody. - Wordless PR