With a sound that harks back to the early days of third-wave emo and post-hardcore, and a diehard DIY ethic at its core, bi-continental newcomers The Pale Hearts have officially announced their arrival with the release of their blistering debut single, “Vicious.”

Formed by multi-instrumentalist and primary songwriter Anton Rowenski, The Pale Hearts is a long-simmering passion project finally brought to life after nearly a decade in the vault. “It’s something I’ve been playing around with for a long time,” Rowenski explains. “I’ve been sat on these songs for the best part of 10 years and thought it was about time to do something with them. The resurgence of emo and post-hardcore got me digging through old demos, and I realized some of them still held up.“

When it came time to find a vocalist, Rowenski looked beyond his hometown of Warrington, England, and reached out to longtime friend and collaborator Lance Waste, best known as the frontman of cult emo band Darling Waste. “I’ve known Anton since Darling Waste’s first UK tour,” Waste recalls. “When I flew over from the U.S., I actually crashed at his mom’s house before the tour kicked off. Later, we even shared a flat in Brighton during the recording of our album. Anton would help out with guitar parts in between his own gigs. We’ve always clicked musically.”

Initially reluctant to return to the music scene, Waste was hesitant to jump into a new project. “I’d just come off a rough reunion tour with Darling Waste. It just wasn’t in my heart anymore. I’d decided I was done with music,” Waste admits. “But when Anton played me his demos, something in me lit up again. It rekindled a fire I hadn’t felt in years.”

“Vicious” is a raw and emotionally charged post-hardcore track that evokes the energy of early My Chemical Romance, Thursday, and Taking Back Sunday. Recorded entirely with home equipment and zero studio budget, the band leaned into an unfiltered, gritty sound. “We wanted it to feel real. No polish, no perfection,” says Rowenski. “That scrappy production adds a kind of charm and honesty you can’t fake.”

Listen to “Vicious” below:

The Pale Hearts have quickly followed “Vicious” up with their second single “The Great Escapist”, which was featured on Jesea Lee’s New Music Friday playlist on Spotify, and are releasing their debut EP, Half Price Catastrophe, later in the year. Drawing early review comparisons to bands like Bayside, Hawthorne Heights and The Used, the EP promises a nostalgic, heartfelt take on the emo/post-hardcore revival currently resonating with fans worldwide.

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