Haddonfield are a Welsh 4-piece who formed in 2004, taking their name from the fictional town where Michael Myers committed all sorts of knife-wielding mayhem in the classic horror flick, Hallowe’en. 

They play a decent brand of new-age punk, and are a cut above many of their contemporaries due to their ability to write decent catchy choruses. There’s bits where the sound is a bit muddy and the vocals aren’t clear enough (yeah, I know punk’s not all about singing like Aled Jones, but the songs are too good to be sung almost indecipherably at times), but you can definitely hear the quality present in the band. 

Quite unusually for this type of EP release, all the lyrics are printed on the artwork and I think this is a deliberate move, as it highlights one of the band’s major strengths – the quality of their lyrics – very dark, gritty and with a sense of realism that rings true, unlike so many bands today.  They write about what they know and what they see and are good at it. Tracks such as Bar Brawls & Downfalls and A&E seem to have come from personal experiences within the band and, as a result, the songs are much better for it. 

On this showing, I think the band have a definite future and whilst they are not yet the finished article, with a bit of guidance and polish, they could easily reach the next level by the time they release their first full-length album.  It will be interesting to chart their progress.

Let us know your views on 'Bar Brawls & Downfalls'

Track List

Panic
Romero
Bar Brawls & Downfalls
A&E
Broke

Line Up

Rhys - Guitar/Vocals
Glenn - Drums
Jay - Guitar
Eddie - Bass