Hopeless Romantic is a four-piece emo band from Long Island, NY including Ryan Daniels (lead vocals, guitar), Kyle Grindstaff (bass), Shane Hahnel (drums), and Eli Mertzel (lead guitar, keys). The band meshes inspirations from classic, midwestern emo sounds with a background in musical theater, giving us a unique take on a familiar genre. Their first EP Cherry Pit (In My Stomach) was released in 2018 when Daniels was only 15 years old. Over the years their music has continued to mature and evolve, giving us some of their best work yet with their new EP Bosco.
“brendan fraser’s the mummy” provides a strong opening for the heartfelt EP with the lyrics “Instead of blood, I’d like to try // A mix of love and formaldehyde,” adeptly setting the stage for the following tracks. The idea of loving someone as a precarious procedure continues through to the second track “cope!” with Daniels singing the ardent lines, “take your time, this surgery is intricately complex // your hands are shaking.”
The final and longest of the five tracks, “thats not the peace treaty, thats a copy of the peace treaty” grapples with the feelings that come when the procedure doesn’t end well, closing the curtains on the EP as artfully as they were opened.
In arguably one of the top EPs released this year, Hopeless Romantic leaves you with your heart aching and wanting more.
You can find Bosco on cassette via Outcast Tape Infirmary. You can also get more Hopeless Romantic on Twitter @horoband, Instagram @hopelessromanticli, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitch, and Youtube.
Written by Kaitlyn Boykin