Koyo Release Sophomore Album Barely Here — A Lean, Anthemic Punk Record Built to Last

Koyo are not interested in reinvention. The Long Island melodic hardcore outfit have released their sophomore album, Barely Here, today via Pure Noise Records, and it does exactly what it sets out to do: ten songs, 28 minutes, no fat, no filler, and enough hooks to justify the hype that’s been building since their debut.

The album arrives with a music video for the title track and a touring schedule that suggests a band fully hitting their stride.

What Barely Here sounds like

If you need a reference point, think the firecracker urgency of The Movielife, the widescreen choruses of Taking Back Sunday, and the tuneful grit of Silent Majority — but filtered through a band with a voice entirely their own. BrooklynVegan put it plainly: there is no band carrying the torch for that exact strain of Long Island melodic hardcore and emo right now quite like Koyo.

Alternative Press called it “a ripping fun but melodically savvy half-hour that prioritises instinct over nostalgia.” Stereogum went for “fun, catchy, sensitive music that still might make you want to suplex your best friend.” Classic Rock landed on “glorious emo hardcore.” All of them are right.

Why the second album sounds like this

Koyo’s debut, Would You Miss It?, won acclaim for its heart-on-sleeve blend of punk, hardcore and emo. For the follow-up, the band made a deliberate choice to pull back rather than expand.

“A lot of bands think their second album has to be this magnum opus epic that sews so many things together, and I think we’d actually taken more of that approach with our first LP,” explains Chiaramonte. “So with Barely Here we wanted to do the opposite of that trajectory — we wanted to refine our strengths instead of doing this purposeful departure. It’s a snapshot of what our band is in its most no-frills, perfected form.”

Produced, engineered and mixed by Jon Markson — whose credits include Drug Church, Drain and The Story So Far — the record features guest appearances from Sammy Ciaramitaro of Drain on “Saying Vs Meaning” and Marisa Shirar of Fleshwater on “Oxidize.” Both feel like natural fits rather than headline grabs.

Tour dates: Japan, North America, and major festivals

Koyo head to Japan first, with dates kicking off on 23rd May in Tokyo and running through Ibaraki, Osaka, Nagoya, Niigata and Kawasaki — including a slot at Bloodeaxe Festival. From there, a North American run begins in early June alongside Hot Mulligan, Joyce Manor and Saturdays At Your Place, taking in Cleveland, Asbury Park, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Indianapolis and more through to late June.

Summer brings festival appearances at Sound & Fury in Los Angeles across 15th–16th August and Louder Than Life in Louisville on 18th September — two of the most credible punk and hardcore-adjacent events on the American calendar.

Full tracklist

1. Barely Here
2. Jet Stream Wish
3. Saying Vs Meaning (feat. Sammy Ciaramitaro)
4. It Happens to the Best of Us
5. You Hate Me
6. Selden Mansions
7. Oxidize (feat. Marisa Shirar)
8. What I’m Worth
9. Pace and Loiter
10. Irreversible

Barely Here is out now via Pure Noise Records.