Where have all the clean cut hardcore kids gone in 2022?

 I recently listened to an episode of Axe to Grind podcast where the hosts deliberated on an interesting topic.

Hardcore used to be full of "clean cut" kids who dressed in a non-descript way and groomed themselves to be as inconspicuous as possible. The dudes at A2G (and trust me, this won't be the last time I pillage content from them) noted that most mainline hardcore has either gone punk or thug in presentation, and the average suburban kid seems to be missing. 

They guess that the clean cut hardcore kid has started to lean into more "hardcore adjacent" spaces. Which makes sense. The band Anxious, for example, is made up of clean cut hardcore kids but plays emo music. Plus, when you consider the rising popularity of bands like Drug Church, or alt-rock pivots by big bands like Ceremony and Turnstile, it makes sense that adjacent music is sucking up most of the attention.

Which kinda bums me out, as someone who really fucking loves soft suburban square hardcore popularized by labels like Lockin' Out, Bridge Nine and Triple B. There aren't really a lot of bands in this lane right now if we're talking mainline, bigger room hardcore. 

So where have those kids gone?

I've done a lot of "research" on this topic, and from what I can tell, the answer is "they've started playing basement shows in the Midwest."

You might not see a lot of representation from clean-cut hardcore on the bill at your favourite fest this summer, but there are still kids putting on for this type of music. I've found a few pockets - mostly in the Midwestern US - of bands and kids who still love straightforward meat and potatoes hardcore.

Delayed Gratification Records

Delayed Gratification is a record label based out of somewhere in Ohio (I think Columbus but I'm not sure). They seem to be more centered around social connections than a unified musical direction, but it's clear the kids from this scene love their mid-2000's hardcore. My favourites from this scene are Slug, who play a very heart-on-your-sleeve take on Lockin' Out-core. I also love Lexan - a concept band whose demo reminds me of something like Government Warning or 86 Mentality. I also gotta give a shoutout to Lousy, who play a very dope throwback to the type of shit you would hear from a band trying to get signed to Deathwish in 2009. 

Check out the DGR website.

Dallas/Central Arts Bedford

I want to mind my own business, so I'll keep this kinda vague. A scene of kids in the Dallas, TX, area are loosely affiliated with an arts space that puts on hardcore shows called Central Arts Bedford. I was first introduced to this scene on Twitter when one of the dudes down there posted a video of himself shooting a beer with a shotgun on his 21st birthday. I witnessed some e-drama go down regarding certain members of this scene recently, so I don't know how active this place is. There  have however, been a few cool bands coming out of this general area. I'm most familiar with Ozone. They blend every era of No Warning together, but without the meatheaded production that puts similar modern bands into a more "streetwear-core" realm. The only other active band I know from this scene is Think Twice! who are the only MFs I can think of playing Youth Crew in 2022 (that rocks!).

The Springfield Connection

I almost didn't include this group of kids because they're a lot more diverse in identity and sound than the average clean-cut hardcore kid, but I think this scene deserves some love. There's a swath of homies around the perimeter of St. Louis, MO who support each others' bands and travel all over the fuckin place to do it. I'm most familiar with Springfield, IL's Prevention and Springfield MO's Side Eye, but I think this is the type of scene where everyone is in a zillion different bands, so do some link clicking and check them out!

Anyways, I hope this proves that clean-cut hardcore isn't dead, just lurking in the shadows, looking to make a comeback when the time is right. Hopefully you found some cool new bands to support!