Pears

New Orleans punk quartet Pears blasted onto the scene in the mid-2010s with their raw bursts of hardcore fury. Their unfettered D.I.Y. sound caught the attention of Fat Wreck Chords and the band signed with the label soon after releasing their debut, 2015's Go to Prison. From there, their songwriting got tighter and Pears expanded their sound on subsequent efforts such as 2016's Green Star and their eponymous 2020 LP. Formed by Zach Quinn (vocals) and Brian Pretus (guitar) -- both formerly of the Lollies -- Pears also counted Alex Talbot (bass) and John Bourgeois (drums) in the original lineup. They released their first EP, ...In Diapers, mere days after getting together. Months later, their debut LP was finished -- written in less than a day -- and self-released. The ten-song, 21-minute Go to Prison was a ferocious blast of whiplash punk. Reminiscent of a more feral Descendents and Suicidal Tendencies, Go to Prison also included an aggressive cover of the Ramones "Judy Is a Punk." Pears signed with Fat Wreck Chords, which reissued their debut in July 2015, and experienced a few changes in drummers (Bourgeois was replaced by Tim Harman, who was replaced by Push Up's Jarret Nathan). A two-song EP, Letters to Memaw, was released in September 2015. Those tracks would later appear on their follow-up LP. Before that sophomore full-length was released, the band toured the U.S., Europe, and Australia, gaining a new bassist while down under: Pat Decline, of Australian band the Decline, filled in for an absent John Komar, who had replaced founding bassist Talbot. Despite the shakeup, the band continued touring and eventually recruited Erich Goodyear as a permanent addition to Pears. Their second album, Green Star, was released in April 2016. Doubling down on the heavier elements of their style, Green Star featured bloody hardcore punk close to the early sounds of F****d Up. In 2017, Pears joined Direct Hit for the split album Human Movement. Returning to the studio, they emerged in 2019 with the single "Comfortably Dumb." That track landed on their official third LP, Pears. The self-titled set was produced by Chris Fogal and debuted a more streamlined and controlled sound for the band. ~ Neil Z. Yeung