Restraining Order

General Admission Standing Room Only

RESTRAINING ORDER

Give Restraining Order a room, and they’ll whip it into a frenzy.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a basement, a house, a club, or a festival stage. They bring the same unbridled and unrestrained energy everywhere they go, leaving their mark (and the crowd hoarse from screaming along!).

Hailing from the underground music hotbed of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, the collective—Pat Cozens [vocals], Dylan Tobia [guitar], Kyle Beaudreault [guitar], Jake Miller [guitar], Keith Freeman [bass], and Will Hirst [drums]—play hardcore punk with purity and panache. After amassing millions of streams, earning acclaim from the likes of Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, and more, and igniting venues, the group level up on their third full-length offering and debut LP for Blue Grape Music, Future Fortune.

“This is a natural evolution,” notes Will. “We leaned into seventies punk, glam, and classic rock in some of the songs. We’ve always had a rock element in our music, but we weren’t afraid to add more of it to the sauce. On each record, we’ve gained confidence. It’s the next organic step.”

“With everything we put out, we push another boundary,” agrees Keith. “We’re doing different things that still fit who we are and sound cool. The thought was, ‘What do we have to lose? Let’s have some fun with it’.”

Emerging in 2017, Restraining Order hit their stride with 2019’s This World Is Too Much. The latter spawned the fan favorite “Don’t Really Think,” which amassed over 1.1 million Spotify streams and counting. The 2023 follow-up, Locked In Time, incited tastemaker applause. Stereogum hailed it as “a great entry point for the present-day hardcore landscape,” and New Noise Magazine celebrated how, “Restraining Order introduce a new flavor of hook-filled, catchy tracks.” Plus, Revolver christened them one of “7 Bands Leading Massachusetts Hardcore’s New Wave.” Along the way, they shared stages with the likes of Angel Du$t, Citizen, Drug Church, Fiddlehead, Fucked Up, Kublai Khan TX, LustSickPuppy, and more. The group eventually caught the attention of Blue Grape Music in 2024 and signed to the label.

During early 2025, the musicians hunkered down in Sonelab Recording Studio for ten days and recorded Future Fortune with Will behind the board as producer. The band enlisted GRAMMY® Award-nominated Tom Dalgety [Ghost, Pixies, Royal Blood] for mixing and Brad Boatright for mastering.

The musicians embraced an outlier perspective, allowing it to inform the process.

“We’ve always been a black sheep, but we’re also in this weird position where we can play with a lot of different artists,” observes Will. “We don’t limit our sound. The basis is early first wave hardcore punk, but we never cared about rules or limits. We were like, ‘Fuck it. If it’s artistically satisfying, let’s do it’. It’s put us in a position to branch out with our music.”

They come out of the gate swinging with the opener and first single “Know Not.” A head-nodding gallop holds the tempo as a hummable guitar riff buzzes. Pat counts down and launches a peppy bark on the verses, bleeding into the irresistibly chantable chorus, “You know what to say and you know what to do, so put it all together before life turns around on you!”

“It’s definitely inspired by seventies punk and glam bands,” says Will. “Thematically, it’s about personal reflection, pointing out your flaws and self-improvement. It’s a bit like our older material, so you can hear a seamless progression. We all found ourselves singing along.”

The guys rev up “Free Ride” with swaggering guitar and a driving beat, culminating on an infectious refrain, “You got a free ride. Well, I’m gonna take the long way home.”

“It was one of the last songs, and it came together quickly,” recalls Will. “It’s simple, but the hook is huge. We didn’t overthink it. Lyrically, it could be about not taking the easy road. We’ve been a band for eight years, and we’ve taken the long road. We booked our own tours, recorded our own records, and even printed our own merch for a while. It was D.I.Y.”

“‘Free Ride’ makes you think, ‘Where am I going?’,” adds Keith. “You’re working towards a goal; it’s not being given to you. We think this road is better instead of being handed everything.”

Then, there’s “Time To Go.” A thick bass line gives way to a frenetic punk freakout fueled by frantic guitars and guttural vocals. However, it ultimately twists and turns through a psychedelic climax complete with free jazz piano, fret-burning solos, and organic percussion.

“The basis is a four-on-the-floor punk song, but it goes crazy in the end,” smiles Will. “There’s some cool guitar leads and Floyd-esque percussion moments rounding out the song.”

“Were You There” concludes the album with one last blast of emotion and another arena-size vocal.

“Our records typically end with a banger,” Keith states. “This is no different. ‘Were You There’ has a ton of energy and passion. Pat said it’s representative of friendship. It’s relatable. You’re trying to convey someone’s importance.”

In the end, Restraining Order are just the jolt we need to push hardcore punk into another renaissance.

“We take this shit seriously, but we hope everyone else has fun with it,” smiles Will. “We tried to make a catchy rock album, and I think we achieved that.”

“I can’t wait to play it live,” concludes Keith.

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