Long Island punk outfit Koyo are set to return with their second full-length album Barely Here on May 8 via Pure Noise Records, and they’ve unveiled another hard-hitting single, What I’m Worth, as a precursor.
by Paul Cashmere
Emerging from Stony Brook, New York, Koyo have quickly carved out a reputation for blending emotive punk with hardcore intensity, drawing from the rich heritage of Long Island’s music scene while creating a sound unmistakably their own. Formed in 2020 as a supergroup of hardcore veterans from bands like SeeYouSpaceCowboy and Typecaste, Koyo initially went by The L Word, taking inspiration from local band Silent Majority, before settling on the Japanese term for autumn leaf colours, Koyo.
Their debut album, Would You Miss It?, released in 2023, established the band’s identity: a heart-on-sleeve approach combining melodic emo, melodic hardcore, and punk energy. Now, with Barely Here, Koyo refine that blueprint into a lean, 28-minute blast of ten tracks that distil the firecracker guts of The Movielife, the widescreen hooks of Taking Back Sunday, and the tuneful grit of Silent Majority into something uniquely Koyo.
The new single, What I’m Worth, demonstrates the band’s willingness to explore darker, more turbulent territories. With churning riffs and Joey Chiaramonte’s fiery vocals at the forefront, the track confronts personal disillusionment and life on the road with post-hardcore intensity. Earlier single Irreversible showcased the band’s skill for crafting big melodies over energetic tempos, but What I’m Worth underscores a matured edge, reflecting the band’s experiences since their debut.
Chiaramonte explains that the making of Barely Here was deliberately instinctual. “A lot of bands think their second album has to be this magnum opus epic that sews so many things together, and I think we’d actually taken more of that approach with our first LP. So with Barely Here we wanted to do the opposite of that trajectory, we wanted to refine our strengths instead of doing this purposeful departure. It’s a snapshot of what our band is in its most no-frills, perfected form.”
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Jon Markson, a frequent Koyo collaborator known for his work with Drug Church, Drain, and The Story So Far, Barely Here also features guest appearances from Sammy Ciaramitaro of Drain and Marisa Shirar of Fleshwater, adding depth to the album’s raw intensity.
Tracks like Saying Vs Meaning, featuring Ciaramitaro, and Oxidize, a duet with Shirar, tackle themes of frustration, distance, and the personal toll of constant touring. Meanwhile, songs such as Pace and Loiter offer moments of reprieve, capturing fleeting experiences of connection and contentment amid the chaos. Chiaramonte’s lyrics oscillate between the turbulence of life on the road and the moments of clarity that sustain the band, revealing a lyricist increasingly confident in expressing vulnerability without losing the punch of their music.
The band members-Joey Chiaramonte on vocals, TJ Rotolico and Harold Griffin on guitars, Stephen Spanos on bass, and Salvatore Argento on drums-have honed their craft through years of relentless touring, sharing stages with acts like Stick to Your Guns, Silverstein, Knocked Loose, and more, while also appearing at major hardcore festivals including Sound & Fury and the Triple B Showcase. Their extensive live experience has informed the energy and precision evident on Barely Here.
Barely Here Track Listing:
Barely Here
Jet Stream Wish
Saying Vs Meaning (feat. Sammy Ciaramitaro)
It Happens to the Best of Us
You Hate Me
Selden Mansions
Oxidize (feat. Marisa Shirar)
What I’m Worth
Pace and Loiter
Irreversible
Koyo will support Barely Here with extensive touring, including North American dates alongside Rise Against, Hot Mulligan, and Joyce Manor, a Japanese run, and appearances at Sound & Fury and Louder Than Life.
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