AN INTERVIEW WITH RETRACT

1. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Would you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band, and for readers who may not be familiar with you, would you be so kind as to provide a quick snapshot of the band—where you’re from, how you’d characterize your sound, a bit about your ethos?

I’m Courtney, I do vocals in Retract. The lineup is Ezra on guitar, Seamus on guitar, Derek on bass and Adam on drums.

We’re located in southern New Hampshire.

Someone described us as “B9 Board era hardcore” and I think that’s funny but accurate for the time period of bands we’re inspired by as well.

2. Can you tell us a little about the band’s origin story—how you came together as a unit, when you formed, et cetera?

Derek and I started floating around the idea for a band a couple years ago. We wanted it to sound like a mix of No Warning and Carry On.

We asked Adam who plays drums in Corrective Measure if he’d be interested and got to practicing in the fall of 2024, soon after, we got Ezra on board.

We played our first show a couple months later, released our demo in January of 2025 and a promo in last May.

This past spring we asked our friend Seamus to join and we’re currently in the process of writing new songs and hoping to record once it’s all said and done.

3. What about your personal hardcore origin story? What attracted you to the genre and made you not just love the music but feel like you had to make it yourself? 

As a kid I was introduced to older punk bands by my dad and that opened door to finding my own way and bands that I connected with. 

I think anyone who’s relating to the words/message in a song at one point or another sees themself creating their own version of that. 

4. In some ways, hardcore is a very traditionalist genre but in other ways, it’s very much about irreverence and doing your own thing. It’s an interesting tension. How do you thread the needle between knowing and respecting the roots while also carving out space for your own unique voice and perspective? 

We’re inspired by traditional older hardcore and it’s hard to write something that hasn’t already been done, but we try to push ourselves to be creative. It’s cool seeing traditional sounding bands with bands that are pushing boundaries and vice versa. As well as bands that are trying to combine a little bit of everything in their sound. We just try to be as genuine as possible when writing and try to convey that in the lyrical content as well. 

5. So you’ve got some shows under your belt at this point—what have been the highlights thus far? Can you tell us a bit about Eyestone Fest South?

We’ve been really lucky to be able to have the opportunities we’ve had so far. We’re incredibly grateful to be surrounded by supportive friends and people who want to see the scene grow.

Eyestone Fest was my favorite thing we’ve had the chance to be a part of. I don’t think anything will top it to be honest. Not only the show itself, but the demonstration of what the community has the power to do when everyone comes together for someone they care about. It was a true testament to the love everyone has for Ryan and the impact he’s made on Maine Hardcore. [ed. note: you can read more about it in my 2000s hardcore band feature here]

6. You’ve got a trio of dates down in Florida coming up—can you provide us with some details?

We’re heading down with our friends in Corrective Measure to play Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa with Afterthought and Blockade. It’s our first time doing anything outside of New England as a band and we’re really looking for to it. 

There’s a ton of really cool bands coming out of Florida right now and everyone should be paying attention to what they have going on.

7. It seems like post-COVID hardcore has just been exploding. When I was doing my previous site and channel, I spoke with Robert of Life.Lair.Regret. Records out of Australia and he described it as a "particle accelerator." Conversely, I’ve spoken to others who highlighted how much damage the pandemic did to the scene. What are your thoughts on that seismic event and also the state of modern hardcore?

I think the pandemic/lockdown forced people to get resourceful to keep things moving even without in-person interaction, things just looked different temporarily.

After things started opening back up I think a lot of people developed a now-or-never type attitude (far more going with now) and it created a surge of new bands and engagement, people wanting to get involved in any way they can and now that’s trickling down to a younger audience, it’s awesome to see.

8. Who are some other great bands doing their thing we should be paying attention to?

Corrective Measure
Zinc
Bias
Infernal Diatribe
Satiate
Half Step
Fake Smile
Mortar
Stab
Who Decides
Outnumbered

9. A couple fun questions to close us out: You’ve been granted magical powers to bring five bands or artists past or present, living or deceased, together, at their peak, for a one-night show only. What’s the lineup?

Prince
The Clash
Hüsker Dü
Nausea
Void

10. Ignoring the logistics of how you’d do it, if you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring five records with you, which ones would you bring?

Lewd Acts - Black Eye Blues
Prince - Dirty Mind
Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey
Suicide File - Some Mistakes You Never Stop Paying For
Suede - s/t