Okay, real talk: I hit play on “Want You” expecting another St. Paul band chasing the pop punk revival wave, and three seconds in, Halfway Down proved me a total sucker for a good hook.

This trio treats genre boundaries like optional advice. Pop-punk drives up front, that same emo spirit we all fell for back on cassette tapes rides shotgun with all its anxious guitar baggage, and hardcore, of course, sits in the back seat, banging on the front seats every now and then just to remind you it’s still there.

The song works because it commits fully to the bit. Big Y2K chords. That specific chorus melody built for someone screaming along at a basement show. Gang vocals that feel earned rather than manufactured. Lyrically, “Want You” plays out like a message you wrote and deleted a handful of times before finally sending it — distance, time apart, the ache of wanting somebody back in the room with you. Simple premise, executed with real teeth.

Production-wise, everything stays loose. Scrappy in the right spots, hooks sound lived-in instead of studio-polished, and honestly that’s the whole appeal. This band sounds like they’ve earned every bruise from years playing the Twin Cities circuit before “Want You” ever got written.

Catch them live if you get the chance. Pet Rock Fest in St. Paul, or a Pilllar Forum bill alongside When The Sun Sets and Exit 122 in Minneapolis. Local band making noise in their own backyard first, world catching up later — that’s the trajectory here.

This podcast from Soundville is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by Soundville Team