On October 22, 2023, a showcase of hardcore bands from past, present, and future took place at the Space Ballroom in Hamden, CT. Dead Wrong and Anklebiter opened for 108 and Judge on the final day of a weekend run.
Anklebiter, now almost a year and a half out from the release of its demo, is one of the best up-and-coming bands in northeast straight-edge/hardcore. The lineup is made up of Rachael Braverman on vocals, Logan St. Germain on bass, Evan Stein on guitar, and Nick Birtles on drums.
Nearly all of the members have been involved with other musical projects over the years, and they’ve all been going to and playing shows in the area longer than I’ve been around the scene. Anklebiter’s fast, high-energy sound fuses with relatable, easy-to-sing lyrics for a fun and danceable breed of hardcore that will never go out of style.
The band’s sets are always filled with emotion, and there’s a certain sense of community in the room when the members hit the stage. Each of them looks like they genuinely love what they’re doing, and it makes everyone watching want to participate in the set, too. The dance floor was filled with people of all ages moshing and rushing up front to grab the mic the entire time.
After the band’s set in Hamden, I caught up with Braverman to chat about each song on the setlist that night. Her charismatic stage presence and energetic delivery of each word made fans out of everyone in the room by the time she walked off.
A conversation with Braverman is always bound to make me laugh, but also to remind me of how impressive she is as a vocalist and lyricist. Keep reading to take a look behind the setlist from her point of view.
I AM…
“I Am…” is a track I wrote about growing up in the northeast. Lots of people think we’re from Boston, but I actually live in New Jersey…I wrote it about living there and spending a lot of time growing up in New York. The first verse has the city atmosphere, the second is the shore. I am a product of my surroundings.
RED TONES
“Red Tones” literally has to be included in our sets cause that’s “the Anklebiter song.” The sole survivor from the demo. Like half our tracks, it’s just about me having a meltdown and being upset, or something.
DAREDEVIL
We literally only played “Daredevil” because our close friend who was at the show begged us to. We never play it because it can get messy on guitar, but it’s a really fun track to play. Song has literally zero meaning.
PEARL
“Pearl” is the straight-edge track, the only single off of our EP. We played it for those reasons alone; I’m honestly kind of over playing that one at this point in time, but it’s not going anywhere.
CATHARSIS
“Catharsis” is the best song we’ve ever written. It’s pretty obvious what it’s about. Honestly kind of upset we didn’t get backlash on that one because I thought it would be funny.
LYNX
I wrote “Lynx” when we played Act Like You Know (now Flyover Fest) last year. I wrote most of the lyrics while I was warming up for our set sitting in the freezing van. Weird track to write when I was stoked and having a great time, but I did. It’s a heavy one but it’s fun to play. I’m proud of it.
Huge thanks to Rachael for letting me pick her brain and to all of the members for always putting on such a fun show and for their kindness over the years. You can follow Anklebiter on Instagram @xAnklebiterx and check out the band’s music on all streaming platforms, including the latest EP “To Live And Withstand.”
Photo via Kayla Guilliams
