Emo at Heart

Heartless Breakers

Heartless Breakers
Heartless Breakers

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.