Band: Staring Contest
From: Indianapolis, Indiana
Their formation story:
(Fiona, vocals): "Staring Contest formed shortly after Bryton’s and my emo band broke up in 2024. I wrote our demo in the months following the breakup, and then we got together with Scout on bass — who is Bryton’s sister and previously played in Struck with him — along with Alexia on drums, who is one of our closest friends, my girlfriend, and the best drummer in Indy.
Their sound in their own words:
"On our demo, we were much more Youth Crew influenced. For our new EP, World of My Dreams, we kept that fast Youth Crew foundation but also tried incorporating sounds closer to later-era Turning Point, Fury, and other slightly melodic bands that still feel firmly rooted in hardcore."
Latest release info:
"World of My Dreams — our new EP on LDB Records — was written last summer and recorded in October by our friend and musical genius Bill Stack. Bill has recorded a ton of hardcore bands from our peer group around Indianapolis and Bloomington, including Sick of Talk, Struck, Velocity, Get Right, and Full Stride.
"With this EP, we really wanted to expand our sound a little more compared to the demo. We focused on adding elements the earlier material lacked: punk blast beats, mosh parts, melodic leads, and more introspective lyrics.
"We first connected with Ash and Tyler from LDB Records last August when we played Unified Fest in Indianapolis. They immediately told us they wanted to release whatever we did next, and we’re super grateful they took a chance on us. They also added us to LDB Fest this year after another band dropped, and it ended up being a great set.
"The EP was mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, while the artwork was created by Alex Allen of Steamroll. Vinyl pre-orders should already be live through LDB by the time this publishes."
Future plans:
"We just wrapped a short weekend run with our friends in Get Right, hitting Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. We also have a June 7 show booked with Public Opinion before slowing down for a bit to focus on writing more material this summer.
"Later this year, we’ll be playing Unified Fest again in Indianapolis before hitting Louisville with Sick of Talk the following day. We also have a September run lined up with Act With Empathy from Springfield, Missouri, ending in Indianapolis with our record release show. There are also more runs currently being planned for the fall."
What other bands from their region should you check out?
"Alexia and I are in another band called Eidetic, which is a metalcore band that will have our demo out this summer. Bryton is in two other hardcore bands in Indianapolis: Sick of Talk and Struck. For other Indiana bands, I would check out X-Force, Velocity, Get Right, Starscourge, Colossal Man, and Starsfadingoutquietly.
"Across the Midwest, if I were to narrow it down to a short list of bands, I would say to check out Act With Empathy, Passion, xGAARGOYLEx, Who Laughs Last, Self Interest, Jumpball, Dysform, Kings Command, Cueball, The Sissy Boys, and a ton more, but I don’t want to take up too much time."
World of My Dreams is available on 7" vinyl via Life and Death Brigade.
Staring Contest on social media: Instagram
Tagged: staring contest
