Introducing: allcaps.

Dutch band allcaps. have honed a sound that they claim is “unique in Europe.” Having initially crafted an emo and pop-punk vibe, the Eindhoven five-piece is drifting towards more of a melodic hardcore sound that they summarise as “Emo + Pop-Punk = Fun.”

The band first began as an emo meets pop-punk project between twins Dalton (guitar) and Dylan (bass) early in 2021. They expanded the group with Douwe (drum), Melle (guitar) and Jasper (vocals) joining in the Spring and, after several band practices, “it became clear that we had the same vision, vibes, and most importantly, humour.”

The band released debut EP my fantasy // my enemy in April, on which they told us: “The release of our debut EP went way above what we expected. The EP release show we’d planned sold out, and from that moment on we’d only had good encounters, both on and off stage. At first, it was scary, ’cause we didn’t know what to expect. Oh, and to anyone who hasn’t listened yet: have fun singing along!”

The EP has just been followed up with the double single too deep and confine me, which was released at the end of November. And no, the lack of ‘caps’ in contrast with the band name, has not been lost on us.

too deep opens up with high-pitched guitars that feed into a lively opening verse of engaging vocals and driving drums and guitars. The pace drops with heavy drums, then flies into a big chorus that features the line “I’m way too deep in shit, Even my mum knows it.” Heavy guitar chords come in then a big scream gives way to dual clean and screamed vocals, which feed into a heavy pre-chorus and a final chorus. Check it out in the lyric video here:

confine me starts with a guitar lick over driving drums, then drops into an engaging opening verse. Palm-muted guitars come in as the clean vocals are joined by screamed vocals then flow into a catchy punky chorus. A second chorus ends with heavier guitar chords and a big scream, before an energetic conclusion. Check it out in the lyric video here:

On the new singles, they told us: “If you compare these two new singles to our debut EP, you’ll definitely hear a more defined sound that we think resonates with the band. It’s a sound that we think is unique in Europe. Fast-paced instrumentals transform into low, heavy breakdowns, combined with angsty vocals and psychological lyrics, ranging from clean singing to screaming. It will definitely keep your attention.

“The sound of too deep // confine me would still be described as emo, combined with pop-punk, however, we’re getting closer and closer to a melodic hardcore sound nowadays. But we still love the pop-punk sound.”

The allcaps. sound aims to combine the feeling of 2010s pop-punk with the heaviness of hardcore and metalcore. They take inspiration from the likes of emo-rap band nothing, nowhere, pop-punk bands like Trash Boat and Trophy Eyes and metalcore bands such as Architects.

And on what inspires them to write music, they tell us: “Lyrics-wise, our music mostly consists of emotional and psychological themes. We want to share what we go through with people, so they can relate to it. Instrumentally, we’re drawing inspiration from all over the place.”

It’s been a little while since we spoke to any Dutch bands, so we asked the band for their thoughts on their local scene. They told us: “The Dutch rock/punk scene is banging at the moment! The past two years a lot of new bands made their way into the scene, just like us. Bands supporting each other, booking shows together, and checking out each others’ shows happens very frequently. Stefan from Bony Macaroni, for example, helped us produce these songs. We recommend to check out Half Cab, Floodlines, Bony Macaroni and Mayleaf to get a feel of what’s been going on in our country!”

There’s plenty more to come from allcaps. as they look to further develop their sound, release new music and bring it to more stages in 2023.

You can follow allcaps. on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.