Emo at Heart

Salt Lake City’s Heartless Breakers play a brand of bombastic, overwrought rock ‘n’ roll popularized at the turn of the millennium — a style known as emo.

Vocalist Chase Griffis’ expressive voice sits alongside post-hardcore screaming vocals. Beneath it all, aggressive guitars and a clamorous rhythm section intertwine, creating an auditory manifestation of adolescent tension and release.

But Heartless Breakers also blend elements of hard and abrasive music with a pop sheen, a defining characteristic of emo.

“Many of the bands we’ve been compared to were bands we listened to in high school,” guitarist Matt Mascarenas tells EW, including bands like Thrice, Taking Back Sunday, The Juliana Theory and Brand New.

“Though we’ve never had a specific sound in mind,” Macarenas explains, “our writing process isn’t planned out. Our music is simply a product of what we are collectively feeling at the time we are writing.”

Heartless Breakers are touring in support of their debut full-length album, The Great Give Back, out now on Animal Style Records.

The group put out an EP in 2013. “We chose to write The Great Give Back with the expectation of being over any problems or subjects expressed on the Prescriptions EP,” Mascarenas says, “and kept our minds moving forward.”

“Most of us have played in Eugene in previous bands,” Mascarenas continues, “though this will be our first time there as Heartless Breakers. We are touring with Sundressed, who has played Eugene in the past, and they’ve had nothing but great experiences to share. We are excited.”

Heartless Breakers play with Sundressed and Eugene’s Bending and Feeling of Home in their debut gig 8 pm Sunday, April 26, at The Boreal, 450 W. 3rd Ave.; $5. All ages.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!