It’s not at all outlandish to say that Koyo are to the 2020s what Four Year Strong were to the 2010s. Both occupy a particular space in pop-punk—the product of adult men that doesn’t remove the rambunctious spirit of an archetypically youthful artform. Where the similarity takes real shape, though, is the degree to which the style is perfected. To this day (and especially during another pop-punk dry spell), Four Year Strong have such a tight, uniquely-placed grip on their genre’s best and brightest. As for Koyo, they’re coming tantalisingly close to catching up.
There’s a couple of other specific albums that Barely Here brings to mind quite a bit. The first, and the easiest to rationalise, is State Champs’ The Finer Things. Both are tight, impeccably-crafted pop-punk albums, sporting a good supply of crunch reminiscent of Pure Noise’s halcyon days. The second, based on vibe above all else, is Drain’s …Is Your Friend. With Koyo at the epicentre of pop-punk, emo and hardcore’s current relationship, it makes total sense to run in the same lane as one of 2025’s shining examples of raucous, unputdownable music. Drain’s Sammy Ciaramitaro even shows up on Barely Here, as if to ratify the union himself.
On top of all that, had Barely Here been released in, like, 2003, you also wouldn’t bat an eyelid. The lineage of Long Island emo and hardcore is all over this thing, so much to its credit. Barely Here is a pop-punk album oblivious to the 2010s’ commodification and 2020s’ gentrification, almost like The Movielife or early-days Taking Back Sunday vaulted forward a couple of decades. And yes, that does make two more bands for Koyo to be likened to in this review alone, but you have to understand how that’s purely from admiration of pedigree. In less than half-an-hour, Barely Here is one of the purest, most perfect examples of its style committed to record in a long while, barely putting a foot wrong, never losing its way.
It’s almost comically simple in practice, when you get down to it. The guitars are loaded with crunch; the bass is loud and charging; the drums punch with endless vigour; Joey Chiaramonte makes no effort to coat the abrasions in his voice; and the hooks rage forth at borderline reckless pace. Give it a production job that keeps all of that accentuated, and you’re golden. It really is that straightforward, yet the benefits that Koyo reap are immeasurable. Jet Stream Wish has the bones of a terrific pop-punk song as it is, but the added meat and gristle take it into life-affirmer territory.
By no means is that the only example; you can’t move for them on Barely Here. There’s not a lull to be found on this album, let alone a weak spot, and thanks to how tight-knit Koyo are with hardcore, they got the ideal method to leverage it. It Happens To The Best Of Us is a great example, a track that chugs like a rockfall amid the most uber-melodic hardcore imaginable. Even when the balance is tipped slightly—see the slug of Drain energy that Sammy Ciaramitaro brings to Saying Vs Meaning, or the brusque post-hardcore turbulence of What I’m Worth—Koyo are locked in to an immovable degree.
All of that makes it monumentally easy to sing the praises of Barely Here all day long, but it’s the humanness to it that crosses it over into something special. Not for one second does it feel touched-up beyond necessity or driven in a direction that’s mandated instead of wanted. It’s likely the reason that Koyo move so quickly on this album—it’s entirely their own expression, laid out as desired. Chiaramonte having such a bullish presence behind the microphone cements it, a representation of life’s upheaval for a touring band and the release shaping both the good and bad. Admittedly, there’s more ground into the latter camp, be that the pangs of distance on Jet Stream Wish and Chiaramonte’s frustration at being away from his grandmother as she deals with dementia on Oxidize, or just a nice, little snark-fest with the bit between its teeth in Irreversible.
In essence, though, when the punch is this mighty with and thrown with the fullest intent, anything works. Koyo rip through a suite of seamlessly-fitted genre beats with a master’s aptitude, and after just the first listen, Barely Here already feels infinitely replayable. The loop is just that airtight, between the pacing, the hustle and the chunks of diamond masquerading as melodies and hooks. What’s more, it’s simple without being underdeveloped or slight; you’re getting a full feeding with this one, even when it is south of the half-hour mark. For what this is, Barely Here is basically perfect, providing the sort of kick that could turn an advantageous position into an undeniable one. Continue to watch Koyo closely; before long, whether you’re in pop-punk, hardcore, emo or any crossover sector of the three, you won’t have a choice.
For fans of: Four Year Strong, The Movielife, Anxious
‘Barely Here’ by Koyo is released on 8th May on Pure Noise Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
