Onesta is a new band on me. They are straight up, old school hardcore from Paris. This is their 2nd record. And, to be brutally honest, if it wasn’t for the tinge on the accent, you would assume they were from New York and this album came out in 1993. It’s one guitar, beat-down stuff. Even the cover has an American theme, and the title speaks volumes.
I’ve never been an especially big fan of hero worship in this way – make no mistake, this is just a version of [insert your favourite NYHC band here]. This isn’t same meat, different gravy, this is same meat, same gravy, same potatoes and vegetables. Having said that, they have juice in the tank, something some bands of the annual Persistence tour have been accused of having exhausted a long time ago. The tunes are good. The production and musicianship is as good as anything else that has been done in the genre.
I can’t see them making waves in the UK for the simple reason that this country can be a bit of closed shop. It’s hard enough for a lot of mainland Europe bands here as it is, without pedalling the type of hardcore that couldn’t be less in fashion right now – and doing it with almost no variation on the theme. Which is a crying shame, because Onesta are a good example of contemporary hardcore still going strong. But, I would say, if you don’t already live and breathe NYHC, you won’t be wanting to investigate this. If you do love it, then this lot are obviously aiming to carry the torch.
Mike