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Between the Richness
Between the Richness is the second studio album by the American post‑hardcore band Fiddlehead, released on May 21, 2021, through Run for Cover Records. It follows the group's 2018 debut, Springtime and Blind, and continues their combination of hardcore rhythms with melodic emo and punk elements.
Work on the record began in 2019 after the unexpected success of the debut and a period of significant personal change for the band's lead vocalist Pat Flynn, who became married and a father while marking the tenth anniversary of his own father's death. The band recorded the ten tracks in February 2020 at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts, with engineering and mixing by Chris Teti and mastering by Dan Coutant. Treating Fiddlehead as a part‑time passion project, the sessions were relaxed and completed just before the COVID‑19 shutdown, after which touring plans were curtailed.
Musically, the album preserves Fiddlehead's fast‑paced songwriting while adding spoken‑word passages and poetry samples, most notably two appearances of E. E. Cummings reading "I carry your heart with me." The lyrics shift from the varied familial perspective of the first album to Flynn's reflections on fatherhood, grief, and renewal; the title refers to the thematic "richness" of life and death, symbolized by his infant son and late father, both named Richard. The album juxtaposes typical punk energy with themes of love, loss, and self‑doubt.
Announced on March 16, 2021, The digital and physical release of Between the Richness was preceded by the singles "Million Times" and "Heart to Heart." The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised its emotional directness and its energetic hardcore sound. The album also reached number nine on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.
Fiddlehead, featuring members of the hardcore band Have Heart (singer Pat Flynn, drummer Shawn Costa) and Basement (guitarist Alex Henery), had initially not expected to make a second record. However, the strong reception of their debut Springtime and Blind (2018), as well as Flynn's life between the first and second album going through "massive" changes: he got married and had his first child, coinciding with the ten-year anniversary of his father's death, motivated him to continue writing and turn what was once meant as a one-off project into another album. The band began recording new songs in 2019, with Flynn consciously addressing how fatherhood and the memory of his father intersected in his life.
Between the Richness was recorded in February 2020 at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts. According to Flynn, sessions were produced in a relaxed, "no expectations" manner, as the band still treated Fiddlehead as a passion project rather than a full-time career. The recording was engineered and mixed by Chris Teti and mastered by Dan Coutant. These sessions took place shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown; the band, uncertain when they could perform again, still attempted to complete the album.
Musically, Between the Richness continues Fiddlehead's blend of post-hardcore aggression with melodic emo and punk sensibilities. Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen noted that the album doesn't stray far from the band's foundational sound, describing it as "gruff but approachable, intense without being aggro, emo but not emo." The songs are fast-paced and tightly structured, yet also inject moments of vulnerability. "Million Times," the lead single, is driven by hardcore energy and big hooks but remains emotionally earnest, dealing with "endless, cyclical patterns of love" and relationship struggle. Tracks like "Loverman" and "Joyboy" showcase a more melodic and mid-tempo side with clean guitar passages.
The album frequently uses spoken-word and poetry to bookend songs. The opening track "Grief Motif" begins with a recording of poet E. E. Cummings reciting lines from his poem "I carry your heart with me", creating a somber prelude before the band launches into the song's hardcore elements. The same poem reappears at the album's conclusion: in the final moments of "Heart to Heart," Cummings' voice returns to finish the poem's closing lines ("I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)") as the music fades. This motif ties together the album's themes of love, loss, and legacy. Several tracks also incorporate brief spoken monologues or samples, for instance, "Life Notice" contains a spoken snippet, sharing similar elements to Springtime and Blind.
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Between the Richness
Between the Richness is the second studio album by the American post‑hardcore band Fiddlehead, released on May 21, 2021, through Run for Cover Records. It follows the group's 2018 debut, Springtime and Blind, and continues their combination of hardcore rhythms with melodic emo and punk elements.
Work on the record began in 2019 after the unexpected success of the debut and a period of significant personal change for the band's lead vocalist Pat Flynn, who became married and a father while marking the tenth anniversary of his own father's death. The band recorded the ten tracks in February 2020 at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts, with engineering and mixing by Chris Teti and mastering by Dan Coutant. Treating Fiddlehead as a part‑time passion project, the sessions were relaxed and completed just before the COVID‑19 shutdown, after which touring plans were curtailed.
Musically, the album preserves Fiddlehead's fast‑paced songwriting while adding spoken‑word passages and poetry samples, most notably two appearances of E. E. Cummings reading "I carry your heart with me." The lyrics shift from the varied familial perspective of the first album to Flynn's reflections on fatherhood, grief, and renewal; the title refers to the thematic "richness" of life and death, symbolized by his infant son and late father, both named Richard. The album juxtaposes typical punk energy with themes of love, loss, and self‑doubt.
Announced on March 16, 2021, The digital and physical release of Between the Richness was preceded by the singles "Million Times" and "Heart to Heart." The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised its emotional directness and its energetic hardcore sound. The album also reached number nine on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.
Fiddlehead, featuring members of the hardcore band Have Heart (singer Pat Flynn, drummer Shawn Costa) and Basement (guitarist Alex Henery), had initially not expected to make a second record. However, the strong reception of their debut Springtime and Blind (2018), as well as Flynn's life between the first and second album going through "massive" changes: he got married and had his first child, coinciding with the ten-year anniversary of his father's death, motivated him to continue writing and turn what was once meant as a one-off project into another album. The band began recording new songs in 2019, with Flynn consciously addressing how fatherhood and the memory of his father intersected in his life.
Between the Richness was recorded in February 2020 at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts. According to Flynn, sessions were produced in a relaxed, "no expectations" manner, as the band still treated Fiddlehead as a passion project rather than a full-time career. The recording was engineered and mixed by Chris Teti and mastered by Dan Coutant. These sessions took place shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown; the band, uncertain when they could perform again, still attempted to complete the album.
Musically, Between the Richness continues Fiddlehead's blend of post-hardcore aggression with melodic emo and punk sensibilities. Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen noted that the album doesn't stray far from the band's foundational sound, describing it as "gruff but approachable, intense without being aggro, emo but not emo." The songs are fast-paced and tightly structured, yet also inject moments of vulnerability. "Million Times," the lead single, is driven by hardcore energy and big hooks but remains emotionally earnest, dealing with "endless, cyclical patterns of love" and relationship struggle. Tracks like "Loverman" and "Joyboy" showcase a more melodic and mid-tempo side with clean guitar passages.
The album frequently uses spoken-word and poetry to bookend songs. The opening track "Grief Motif" begins with a recording of poet E. E. Cummings reciting lines from his poem "I carry your heart with me", creating a somber prelude before the band launches into the song's hardcore elements. The same poem reappears at the album's conclusion: in the final moments of "Heart to Heart," Cummings' voice returns to finish the poem's closing lines ("I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)") as the music fades. This motif ties together the album's themes of love, loss, and legacy. Several tracks also incorporate brief spoken monologues or samples, for instance, "Life Notice" contains a spoken snippet, sharing similar elements to Springtime and Blind.