Features

No Peace: Vocalist Jesse Conte on Their Debut LP, His Favorite Aussie Hardcore Records

Photo: Broxja 

Towards the end of last year, No Peace released their mosh-friendly debut LP, Something More. Based out of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, the group is part of the Life.Lair.Regret Records roster, putting them in the same company as such No Echo-backed acts as No Brainer, Temple Guard, and Latest God.

Always on the hunt for hardcore from across the globe, I wanted to shine some light on No Peace and their album, so I spoke with vocalist Jesse Conte to get the lowdown.

I also asked him what his picks for all-time essential Australian hardcore records, so hopefully his head didn't explode after our interview.

From what I read, No Peace started during the COVID lockdowns. Was that a matter of having the downtime and wanting to get creative, or were you already hatching the plan to start the band before all that happened?

Yes, No Peace began way back in March 2020, when Australia first went into hard COVID lockdowns. 

My work had us at home, thankfully taking care of our employees, so yeah I had a whole bunch of time free to write songs and explore some new ground creatively. The plan was there to start a new Hardcore band, this was the shot in the arm to start today, ya know? 

Did you have a very clear vision of what stylistic direction No Peace was going to head in when you started, or did that happen as you wrote and played together? Speak on some of those influences.

In my head I wanted to capture the energy of Rotting Out, Down to Nothing, and Carry On. Early Terror, No Warning, and Cruel Hand, of course Have Heart, Go It Alone and a solid amount of Allegiance. All those above bands are my bread and butter. 

Funnily enough, I had been thrashing the No Other Way demo and that band truly inspired No Peace. Along with pretty much every other band on Safe Inside Records. 

Something More came out in November of last year. I love how the songs never outstay their welcome. You’ve stripped the songs down to their most vital and catchy aspects. Tell me a bit about the writing and recording process, and how aware you were of keeping things simple and sweet.

Thanks, that's huge praise. My writing process is simple; I want to create those moments in a song where the crowd jumps on my back and I get lost at the bottom of a singalong pile on.

I write all the riffs and lyrics, so usually I will bring fully written songs to the band and we see where they land from there. I believe being creative is a muscle, the more you work at it, the better and stronger you become. I don't think I've even gotten close to writing my best music yet.

Always striving for Something More, you could say. 

Photo: cardaes.ph

You’re formulating a tour of south east Asia for this coming summer, and you also have a 3-way split with bands from that part of the world. How did No Peace initially connect with those countries, especially since you haven’t toured yet?

We are sitting on what I believe is our best song yet, and a cheeky cover too. They'll be used for a split with some friends from Indonesia and Japan. My older band, All In, toured Indonesia twice so we met heaps of locals and fell in love with their scene.

I recently helped setup a Indonesian tour for my close mates Fever Shack. That was an absolutely wild time, love those guys. Give them a suss if you want Australia's version of Mindforce.

I feel like my second hardcore scene home is in the Indonesian scene. I hope to extend that out to more parts of the world through No Peace touring. 

For those of us who have never been there, describe the Adelaide hardcore scene. Is there a healthy community of promoters and venues helping to support the bands from there, and the tours that come through?

Adelaide is a small Australian city. Our local scene's biggest strength and weakness is that its so small. Unfortunately, the opportunities to play shows are few and far between, as Adelaide is geographically so far away from the major cities in Melbourne and Sydney. I believe it means we struggle to see growth in our local bands, less shows means less experience. 

But a hidden strength Adelaide has is because of our isolation it means we have very unique sounds coming from our local bands and musicians. We aren't as trendy or easily influenced as the bigger cities. We often get looked over for big shows or tours. But it is getting better recently.

Photo: deaf.chris

What are 5 essential Australian hardcore records (LPs or EPs) that everyone should have in their collections?

Well, obviously the No Peace full length, Something More. Available now wherever you stream, physical copies from Life Lair Regret Records and Set the Fire Records.

For real though, if you want some sick Australian Hardcore must hear records that you wont be disappointed in feast your eyes below:

  • Miles Away - everything they touch is gold. But if I have to decide with Carlos' gun to my head—Rewind, Repeat... is their best record.
  • No Apologies - Survival 
  • Extortion - everything, I can't pick one release
  • Stolen Youth - Dark Century (rumoured to be playing a re-re-re-reunion show in 20-never)
  • Homesick - Terra Nullius
  • The Weight - Prisoners of the Flock 
  • Mindsnare - again every single fucking record (described by Ringworm vocalist Human Furnace as "Australia's national treasure")

I went with 7 records. Because fuck the rules! 

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Something More is available now on digital and vinyl via Life.Lair.Regret Records.

Hit the No Peace Linktree to find all of their social media pages.

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