Negative Approach keeps hardcore alive

Detroit hardcore progenitors Negative Approach built quite a legacy between 1981 and 1984, despite releasing a small body of work. The group’s well-aged discography is slim: Process of Elimination compilation track “Lost Cause,” the classic self-titled EP with cover art lifted from The Exorcist, and the 1983 LP Tied Down make up Negative Approach’s complete catalog.

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But less is always more, and such a limited amount of available music has played an immense role in the development of American hardcore. Songs such as “Nothing” and a cover of Blitz’s “Never Surrender” are anthems of urban alienation that inspired everyone from ’90s street punks to today’s hardcore purists. An equally tantalizing artifact is the bevy of classic live footage that captures frontman John Brannon’s pent-up rage and guttural roars.

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It’s no surprise that the current lineup has remained on the global touring scene three times as long as Negative Approach’s original run.

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Brannon reformed the group in 2006 with original drummer Chris “Opie” Moore and Easy Action bandmates Ron Sakowski (bass) and Harold Richardson (guitar). The original plan was to play the Touch and Go Records 25th anniversary show in Chicago that September. “We did that as a one-off, but we kept getting offers,” Brannon says. “Thurston Moore called us up to play England with the MC5, and we couldn’t say no to that.”

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Negative Approach’s touring activity was limited in the early ’80s, with its teenage members rarely able to stray far from the Midwest. Brannon’s only Atlanta memory from the band’s first run was a summer 1984 show at the Metroplex.

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“Our audience’s age range is 15 to 50,” he says. “The younger kids probably think we’re a new band. They don’t realize these songs were written before they were born.”

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The freshness of these songs to virgin ears is due in part to the sway the group’s classic tracks have over a lot of recent punk bands. “That early hardcore sound is everywhere, especially in Europe,” Brannon says. “They’ve gotten past the New York muscle head element. Hardcore got really stupid past ‘84, which is why we bailed.”

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The closest fans have gotten to new Negative Approach recordings since the band’s original run came in 2010 when Taang! Records released a six-song EP of unearthed 1984 recordings titled Friends of No One. Brannon isn’t opposed to releasing new music, including some fresh material that’s already on the set list, once the band clears some geographic hurdles. “It’s kind of hard to write and record because our drummer lives in Brooklyn,” Brannon says.

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Teenage punks leaving behind scant few recordings in the ’80s was never uncommon. Indeed, there’s a certain charm to this approach. These bands stuck around long enough to lay the groundwork for hardcore. They also quit before burning out and soiling the blueprints.

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What separates Negative Approach from its legendary peers in 2015 is a set list that still captures genuine teenage angst over social oppressors and punk rock pretenders. “They were good songs that weren’t just about hating the president or something like that,” Brannon says.

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Indeed, the songs have stood the test of time.