Aim – Foundation EP

Portugal has been a fertile ground for straight edge hardcore bands since the glory days of X-Acto, Pointing Finger and New Winds. But those days are not forgotten, and today Lisbon’s Nova Vaga crew represents the new wave (as the name suggests) of hardcore punk bands and individuals who not only actively promote and support the straight edge lifestyle, but also make no compromises in their political and social stances.

Of all the Portuguese bands I’ve heard in recent years, Aim seems to be one of the most idealistic and uncompromising. The band includes two members of Together, who released a great LP in 2009 called The Elephant. I could talk all day about how much I loved that band when they were around, but let’s get right to Aim. In their debut EP called Foundation we could hear four songs of melodic hardcore in its best tradition. I’d say that Nations On Fire and Mainstrike are definitely influences on Aim’s musical and lyrical approach, although they incorporate a more modern vibes into their sound that reminds me of bands like Have Heart, Verse and The Effort.

The lyrics are much longer than what you would expect from the usual hardcore band and it’s nice to hear a clear anti-capitalist message in a modern hardcore sounding band. Although the Portuguese accent is quite strong in this case and I would assume that they would have sounded much better if the lyrics were in Portuguese (with additional English translations in the booklet). As a criticism, I think you shouldn’t write such long and complicated lyrics in English if you’re not a native speaker. It works fine for a simple youth crew with a few liners, but not for such extensive lyrics as these guys are aiming for.

On the other hand, it would be great if they were to tour your country and you could sing along to the chorus of Foundation in English: “Every single day is a good day to start your own personal revolution.