The HIRS Collective, Pains, Solshade

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Farrah Skeiky

Members of The HIRS Collective in front of a lot of amps.

The HIRS Collective

HIRS formed 15 years ago as a duo, but in the intervening years has grown into The HIRS Collective, an ever-evolving ensemble without a fixed lineup. No matter who is involved (including a dizzying array of guests on their recordings such as Shirley Manson and Melt-Banana), the band creates bracing punk rock in a dizzying array of styles with lyrics and samples shining a light on injustice and raging for a more inclusive future for queer and trans folks, people of color, and other marginalized communities. Also on the bill: Rockford trio Pains and Madison hardcore artists Solshade (previously announced band Sex Scenes is no longer making it to Madison).

media release: The HIRS Collective rely on an ethos of de-individualization. It is their strength, and their love. Through co-opting the anarchist phrase “No Gods. No cops. No masters,” as a ‘fuck you’ to the disingenuity of too much art and life of the capitalist world at large, the group introduced themselves as humanly as possible. Yes, there are individuals who make up this band/Collective/organization. Yes, the politics are in play, which a listener might likely expect from a group that comes from the leftist punk rock world that boasts community, acceptance, and radicalism. However, these are the foundations the HIRS Collective itself. As such, the Collective watched these community virtues and ideologies change through overuse and abuse and holds to them more tightly because of it.

“Those words still have meaning, but they have no weight. They have no power. Everyone has softened the blow of those words.”

After thrice releasing 100-song albums and countless splits and collaborative records, the HIRS Collective had already begun to realize their next frontier through 2020’s highly collaborative Friends. Lovers. Favorites. Since then, the band has doubled-down on prioritizing the love of creation over the expansion of an artist’s public identity, and through the act of expansive collaboration, the HIRS Collective brings We’re Still Here, an immersive album featuring over 35 musicians and vocalists across 17 tracks. The name of the game is world expansion, cultivating true senses of community, and making sure that an idea can never die because it will have spread beyond the mind and powers of any single person. Once you work with the Collective, you are the Collective.

“We always want to go the pessimistic route and be like ‘We’re only here out of spite’ but really, we are spite. And we’re going to do the work and to be as happy as possible for as long as we can. We're here to say ‘Fuck you, what we want to do is go on tour with our friends and hang out with them. We want to have all the positive, wild experiences. We want to contribute to the actual community of people around us. We want to connect with everyone who comes into our world.”

Completely self-produced (like always) and completely self-managed (the Collective is also a driving force behind Get Better Records, who are handling the release) the HIRS Collective’s We’re Still Here is a statement of bravery and irascible resilience that will be one of their many entries into an already unmatched career whose influence has already started to affect young musicians the nation and world over. The HIRS Collective knows its strength and is meeting the realization of its power with measured intention.

“We don’t think we can destroy every single negative structure, but we can dismantle them within ourselves. And if we have the chance to destroy it, let’s fucking go. But we aren’t going to be given any power from anyone else and have to take it for ourselves.”