No Labels for Fiddlehead

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Patrick Flynn, the vocalist for the Boston-based band Fiddlehead, is adamant that he does not consider himself an “artist”—or even a “musician.” Despite being a founding member of the influential hardcore act Have Heart and fronting Fiddlehead since 2014, Flynn would prefer to “have no title.” He would rather exist—and create—in what he calls “a no label space.”

There may be a practical explanation for Flynn’s rejection of such titles: he currently balances the demands of being a high-school history teacher (his “day job”), a father, and a performer. Yet there is aesthetic side to Flynn’s rejection of labels as well, one experienced through listening to Death Means Nothing to Us, Fiddlehead’s standout 2023 album. Flynn, along with bandmates Alex Henery (guitar), Alex Dow (guitar), Shawn Costa (drums) and Nick Hinsch (bass) have created a sound that transcends genres, that transcends labels.

Death Means Nothing to Us is undoubtedly rooted in hardcore, the scene that Flynn came of age in through his tenure in Have Heart. Yet the album eschews the macho tendencies often associated with that genre. In fact, Death Means Nothing to Us is an incredibly vulnerable album, exploring Flynn’s experiences as a dad and partner after losing his own father. Over the course of 12 songs, the band explores what it means to find both strength and peace in the aftermath of devasting loss. “Peace and love to my father,” Flynn sings on album closer “Going to Die,” “I miss you every day/But I’ve learned to hear you in the sound of the trees.”

Naked Emotion

Such displays of naked emotion have not repelled hardcore fans; in fact, the scene has embraced Fiddlehead with open arms. For Flynn, that says as much about the contemporary hardcore scene as it does about his band. “Hardcore is in a super-interesting moment,” notes Flynn. “Attendance [at shows] has grown and, on the whole, it seems way more of a positive culture than I have ever really seen it.” The “frat boy, jock, bro culture” that was once dominant in hardcore has receded, replaced by a scene marked by inclusivity and open mindedness.

Yet Fiddlehead’s approach to their craft has made it easy for hardcore fans to accept them. At the heart of hardcore, throughout its close to 50-year history, is a palpable energy that rejects the confines of mainstream culture as it aims to challenge the musical status quo. “Fiddlehead,” explains Flynn, “is the most unintentional band ever. Whatever people have said about us is just that—it’s what people put on us. We don’t want to be limited by anything.” That sense of freedom allows Fiddlehead’s music to sound both authentic and vital, two words often used to describe the best hardcore bands.

It is such characteristics that have allowed Fiddlehead to, in Flynn’s wording, “organically” find a place in the current hardcore scene. Ultimately, Fiddlehead may be emblematic of an evolving musical sub-genre, one still relatively young. And this evolution is less about adhering to a certain musical formula (“shorter, faster, louder”) and more about cultivating a particular mindset. “Fiddlehead feels urgent,” concludes Flynn. “We’re alive. We’re still kind of declaring our most recent record. And there are still things I want to say to the world in the live moment. When that feeling goes away, we’ll stop.” For anyone looking for a working definition of hardcore in the twenty-first century, such words would be a wise place to start.

Fiddlehead plays at X-Ray Arcade on July 7.