A few years ago, the young Wilkes-Barre band One Step Closer came out sprinting with a fiery, sincere form of melodic hardcore that recalled past eras without ever putting quotation marks around what they were doing. They were a Stereogum Band To Watch back in 2021, and then they moved in a more expansive direction on their 2024 sophomore album All You Embrace. After dropping the one-off single "Jinx" last year, One Step Closer are ready to announce a whole new album called Zero.
One Step Closer recorded Zero with Drug Chuch/Drain collaborator Jon Markson, a producer who knows how to combine hardcore crunch with big, searing hooks. The band says that they found the record's sound by digging into what they call "older brother muisc," and a press release lists off a fun set of inspirations: "printing Mapquest directions to a VFW show, music video blocks on Steven’s Untitled Rock Show, burned CDs with songs ripped from MySpace, and jumping a fence to sneak into Warped Tour in 2005."
With the album announcement, One Step Closer have shared two new songs, doing a double video for both of them. "Blue Hour" starts out slow and meditative and builds to en extremely satisfying fiery conclusion. "Was It Ever Enough?" goes more in the direction of the kind of fired-up, stagedive-happy emo that I associate with past One Step Closer tourmates Koyo and Anxious. Both songs are good! And I really like the video, which the band co-directed with Derek Rathbun. It follows a group of skater kids hanging out aimlessly, tagging the band's stencil logo on any available surface, and gathering at an outdoor live show where they all shoot off fireworks during the climactic moments of "Blue Hour."
Below, check out that video, as well as the two individual songs, the Zero tracklist, and One Step Closer's upcoming tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Numb With Sleep"
02 "Until You Bloom"
03 "About A Boy"
04 "August"
05 "Blue Hour"
06 "Write My Wrongs"
07 "Drowning Skies"
08 "Was It Ever Enough?"
09 "A Fleeting Face"
11 "'For Them'"
TOUR DATES:
10/30 - London, ON @ London Music Hall *
10/31 - Montreal, QC @ MTELUS *
11/01 - Ottawa, ON @ History *
11/03 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium *
11/04 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre *
11/06 - Providence, RI @ The Strand *
11/07 - New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall *
11/09 - Baltimore, MD @ Nevermore Hall *
11/10 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore *
11/11 - Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall *
11/13 - Miami, FL @ Miami Beach Bandshell *
11/14 - Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre ^
11/15 - Orlando, FL@ Vans Warped Tour *
11/17 - New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre *
11/19 - Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company *
11/20 - Nashville, TN @ The Truth *
12/12 - Los Angeles, CA @ For the Children Fest
12/19 - New York, NY @ Warsaw +
12/20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts +
01/29 - Barcelona, Spain @ Can’t Keep Us Down Fest
* with Hot Mulligan, Riley!, & wakelee
^ with Pain of Truth, Madball, & Rotting Out
+ with Senses Fail
Zero is out 2/19 on Run For Cover. Pre-order it here.