‘Different thoughts, different minds, And all you do is assume, You don’t want to think, Just be the loudest in the room’ (It’s On You)

Washington DC’s Grand Scheme return with their second 7-inch and follow-up to 2023’s excellent Numbers Game.  The band continue to hone a stripped back hardcore that deftly blends influences that span early 1980s’ US hardcore, the heavier end of 1990s’ youth crew, and 2000s’ melodic hardcore.

They prove consummately at ease with fusing these inspirations into fierce 90-second eruptions, frenzied blast beats and swinging two-step breakdowns proving instinctively natural bedfellows in their hands.  As a result, each of the seven tracks takes on its own distinctive character as the balance between these inspirations subtly shifts in emphasis, the furiously rhythmic punch of Click Buy Consume and Marketing Budget being personal stand outs.

The lyrical positivity of their debut though has taken on a notably darker hue.  The burly vocals drip with disdain for shallow gesture politics and bristle with contempt for our willingness to subjugate ourselves mindlessly to the relentless financialisation of culture and music.  A no nonsense EP certainly, but one brimming with ideas and passionate delivery.