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Current artists
Blood Command
For 10 years and running BLOOD COMMAND have given a voice to outcasts worldwide through their mixture of knife-sharp rock and kamikaze pop hooks. Now with new singer (and ex-pagan front-woman) Nikki Brumen.
Blue Stragglers
The most recent signing to Hassle Records. Fuzzed up, hook laden, heavy grooves & pop-catchy melodies.
Brutus
The Belgian trio’s return with third studio album 'Unison Life'
Casey
Casey are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from South Wales. Casey have no grand design, music is a labour of love.
Cuffed Up
Cuffed Up was formed through a chance encounter at a party where Sapphire Jewell and Ralph Torrefranca first met, connecting about their love for the UK punk scene with bands like IDLES and Shame.
GLOO
GLOO are excited to share their new video ‘Force You’ and announce their signing to Hassle Records, reissuing their critically acclaimed album ‘A PATHETIC YOUTH’. The album will be available physically for the first time on a limited run of opaque red vinyl & CD on November 29th 2019.
Ithaca
Formed out of a mutual love of metallic hardcore but despair at its lack of ambition, Ithaca draw influence from everything from Southern doom to 90's math rock.
Letters Sent Home
Having now signed with established London-based independent label Hassle Records, Letters Sent Home look set to establish themselves as one of the most promising acts in the post-hardcore scene.
Madmess
Madmess are a stoner rock trio from London and Porto.
Petrol Girls
Ever-bracing musically and lyrically, post-hardcore punks Petrol Girls release their new album ‘Baby’ on June 24th 2022.
Phoxjaw
For a band who’ve only existed for three years, Phoxjaw have made an enormous impact on the rock and metal scene.
Press Club
Aussie outfit Press Club continue to build following the release of 'Late Teens' and 'Wasted Energy'.
Slomosa
Hailing from Norway, the four-piece Slomosa has been making waves across borders. With their heavy sound the band coined their own genre - Tundra Rock - inspired by the American Desert scenes of the '90s.
Stake
Stake, previously incarnated as ‘Steak Number 8’, are a Belgian foursome gearing up for the release of their first album following the success of their first single, ‘Catatonic’.
The Joy Formidable
A long, illustrious career precedes The Joy Formidable but they continue to deliver their unique brand of stadium-sized indie rock.
The Used
Nearly twenty years ago, The Used was brought to life and have since released a collection of albums that shaped the space of the alternative rock scene. As of December 2019, Hassle Records are honoured to continue releasing the band's music.
VIAL
We’ve partnered up with our friends at Get Better Records to offer a limited number of the upcoming new album from VIAL available via our webstore with local shipping.
Alumni
A Skylit Drive, Alexisonfire, Alkaline Trio, August Burns Red, Balance & Composure, Black Lung, Cancer Bats, Canterbury, Death Spells, DZ Deathrays, Elegies, Fireworks, Four Year Strong, Frank Iero, Juliette & The Licks, Lonely The Brave, Max Raptor, Paceshifters, Pagan, Rolo Tomassi, Senses Fail, Spinnerette, Swedish Death Candy, The Get Up Kids, The Homeless Gospel Choir, Thursday, Trash Talk, Tubelord, We Are The Ocean.
About
Hassle Records is a fully independent record label based in London, UK.
Hassle records was formed in 2005 and is the sister label of Full Time Hobby. Though our sound is more based around heavy guitar music, both labels share the same ethos.
Based on a principle of not simply following musical trends, Hassle represents those artists we, the team at the label, love. We own our own business and answer to no one except the bands. We are not driven by quarterly numbers or making an artist ‘more-Spotify-friendly’. Instead, we’re guided by passion. For the music. For the approach. For the people.
To date we’ve been honoured to work with a lot of talented acts and continue to be excited by bands that play heavy guitar music in whatever form that takes.
A note on our our environmental impact:
Like a lot of people, we at Hassle are terrified about the impending catastrophes caused by the Climate & Ecological Emergency. We’re just music fans releasing albums by bands we love, though - what can we do about it?
It is clear that widespread change must come from our governments and the fossil fuel companies, but we don’t want to sit on our hands and wait for that to happen. We are trying to change how we operate bit by bit. We know we’ll get it wrong sometimes and we’d appreciate any feedback about how we can do this better, or ideas we’ve missed. The music industry is no different from any other industry in that it is going to have to change a lot over the next decade if we’re going to stick around and give our children and grandchildren a fighting chance. We also recognise that those who are hit first and hardest are those already struggling with poverty, in countries such as Bangladesh and those countries that fall within the Sahel region of Africa.
This is not a marketing campaign, by the way. We’d rather just get on and do these things and not make a big deal about it as we’re sick to death of companies greenwashing. However, we hope that by making our thoughts and our actions public, other labels, artists or music fans will be encouraged to make changes in the way they behave. We are not perfect but we would rather give it a go than sit and moan.
Contact us
For general enquiries, or enquiries regarding to our Bandcamp of official store, please contact mease@fulltimehobby.co.uk
The self-described 'deathpop' group are a one-of-a-kind proposition. Hardcore meets metal meets pop meets punk, the band have previously been called 'one of the world's best kept secrets' by Rock Sound, achieved one of the Albums of the Year in Kerrang!, and applauded by Metal Hammer, among others.
Their latest record is entitled 'Praise Armageddonism', with new singer Nikki Brumen at the helm.
For 10 years and running BLOOD COMMAND have given a voice to outcasts worldwide through their mixture of knife-sharp rock and kamikaze pop hooks. The quartet have formed an unbreakable alliance with their audience that wins over new loyal members each and every day.
Listen on Spotify
Blue Stragglers
The most recent signing to Hassle Records. Fuzzed up, hook laden, heavy grooves & pop-catchy melodies.
Brutus
Stefanie, Stijn and Peter teamed up to start Brutus in 2013. They all met while playing in different bands from the same region of Leuven (Belgium). In merging their different ideas and musical tastes they have formed a strong union, both musically and personally.
Following the release of first 'Burst' and then 'Nest', Brutus return with their third studio album 'Unison Life', released October 2022. For Brutus, 'Unison Life' is a story of dreaming and striving for a life of total peace and balance. In drummer / singer Stefanie's own words: “With this record we identify the biggest pitfall we keep falling into ourselves: the search for a harmonious life without discussions or ups and downs.”
The band continue to tour around the UK, Europe and the US.
Casey
Casey are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from South Wales. Casey have no grand design, music is a labour of love.
Listen on Spotify
Cuffed Up
Cuffed Up was formed through a chance encounter at a party where Sapphire Jewell and Ralph Torrefranca first met, connecting about their love for the UK punk scene with bands like IDLES and Shame. A few months later, Cuffed Up was formed along with Joe Liptock and Vic Ordonez, becoming a full-time band.
With comparisons to 90’s bands like Sonic Youth and The Pixies to modern day post-punk UK acts like IDLES, it’s no wonder why the LA based quartet, Cuffed Up, have been turning heads since their debut double A-side “Small Town Kid” and “Mother/Father” was released at the end of 2019. The band garnered much support as an unsigned act first of all from KEXP (Song of The Day/Music That Matters), and subsequently from the likes of NME, DIY Magazine and The Line Of Best Fit.
After having our eye on them for a while, we welcomed Cuffed Up to the Hassle family in 2020.
The self-titled, debut EP is out now, pressed onto yellow vinyl. Available here.
Listen on Spotify
GLOO
GLOO are excited to share their new video ‘Force You’ and announce their signing to Hassle Records, reissuing their critically acclaimed album ‘A PATHETIC YOUTH’. The album will be available physically for the first time on a limited run of opaque red vinyl & CD on November 29th 2019.
A product of their fading seaside resort hometown, Littlehampton, GLOO create high octane and abrasive sounds, pulsing with infectious melodies. GLOO adhere to provide a sense of relief from modern life’s struggles - the fantasy of quitting a dead-end and mundane nine-to-five job, the aspiration to escape small-town life and see the world.
It’s a sound that roars with ambition, as demonstrated in ‘A PATHETIC YOUTH’ (KKKK - Kerrang!, 4/5 - Upset), which has garnered support from Louder, Kerrang!, Upset, BBC Radio 1, Kerrang! and Amazing Radio and landed the band a BBC Introducing live radio session.
Gloo’s full-throttled live shows have landed their support to Queen Kwong, Press Club, Demob Happy and Richie Ramone, alongside a slot at 2000 Trees and BBC Amplify. Their music, vivacity and spirited live shows speak for themselves and Gloo has their eyes firmly set on breaking out of the norm they were born into.
Listen on Spotify
Ithaca
Formed out of a mutual love of metallic hardcore but despair at its lack of ambition, Ithaca draw influence from everything from Southern doom to 90's math rock, as well as the untethered savagery of early Poison The Well and melodious battery of Oathbreaker.
The result is crushing grooves and shrieking guitar squalls that give way to haunting melodic passages and desolate reprieves. The band's second album, 'They Fear Us' follows their debut 'The Language of Injury'.
Ithaca have previously toured with Big Thief, Employed to Serve, Venom Prison, and Renounced.
Press support from Pitchfork, BBC R1, Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, Revolver, Decibel magazines, and performances with Jamie Lenman, Anaal Nathrakh, Bleeding Through, at Boomtown Fair and ArcTanGent Festival, mark Ithaca as one of the most exciting and vital new voices in UK heavy music currently.
Listen on Spotify
Letters Sent Home
Letters Sent Home formed in 2017 in Wolfsburg, based on the close bonds of friendship of Emily, Lara and Robin, quickly finding a forth member in drummer Louis. The band began their journey fully in 2020 with their first single 'Mosaic Mirror' - and the process that the band have lived through can be described as rollercoaster, full of highs and lows.
Driven by courageous ambition, Letters Sent Home came closer to their goals with their first, self-titled EP in late 2020, which served as the foundation for an incredibly successful 2021.
The group's second EP, Misery Loves Company, offered a greater expansion of sound, but also two top-class guest features, underlines the band's increasing heft. Besides Being As An Ocean's Joel Quartuccio, Letters Sent Home also teamed up with Halflives singer Linda Battilani. Both post-hardcore-infused alternative rock songs, they sit alongside the band's synth-laden dark-pop influences, showcasing a fine modern pop-rock sound.
The Misery Loves Company EP led to national attention across key alternative media outlets and an ever-growing fanbase, as well as Hassle Records, their new label home for third EP Fire In Me. A stunning listen, it's a fine demonstration of Letters Sent Home's non-conforming rock sound and their strong lyrical identity.
Thematically the band touch on the topic of mental health, and vocalist Emily's personal experiences. The band raise awareness on these themes not just through their music but with initiatives such as their Helpless But Hopeful Festivals and accompanying podcast.
Listen on Spotify
Madmess
Madmess are a stoner rock trio from London and Porto.
Listen on Spotify
Petrol Girls
Petrol Girls are a feminist post-hardcore punk band, originally formed in London, with members from Austria, Lithuania and the UK. Now based in Austria, and touring incessantly, the band are strong advocates of freedom of movement, anti-capitalism and intersectional feminism. With a wide range of musical influences, and having had the pleasure to support bands such as Strike Anywhere, The Dead Kennedys, Propagandhi, RVIVR, War on Women and Refused, the band are constantly developing musically as well as politically.
‘Baby’ is scheduled to be released via Hassle Records on June 24th 2022. Speaking about the upcoming album, vocalist Jen Aldridge says, “I wanted to do something on police violence, abolitionists politics and kicking back against carceral feminism. I was thinking about the time my friend was arrested and strip searched by The Met, horrifically. I was thinking about SarahEverard, BibaaHenry and NicoleSmallman, and about SarahReed. I was thinking of MarciaRigg, and all her campaigning work since her brother Sean died in police custody. All of these things were going around my head. My balance of where I put my energy has moved away from just grieving injustice and more towards working out what needs to change and how do we collectively do that. That’s something I needed for my mental health as well, because I can’t live in a constant state of grief and anger. I need to have purpose and vision in the ways I’m fighting back.”
Petrol Girls are named after Pétroleuses, mythical women of the Paris commune who allegedly set fire to private property with Molotov cocktails made from milk bottles, and rejected traditional gender roles. The inspiration came from a talk on Women and Protest given by writer Laurie Penny, who loosely translated Pétroleuses to Petrol Girls.
The band first formed in 2013 for a house show that singer Ren was putting on to celebrate International Women’s Day. This feminist context was essential for the band’s formation within a wider music community that at the time did very little to encourage women’s participation.
Listen on Spotify
Phoxjaw
Signing to Hassle Records continues the alternative quartet's rise, following the acclaim of their debut EP Goodbye Dinosaur..., tours with Black Peaks and Pagan, and appearances at 2000trees and Camden Rocks festivals.
The Bristol-based rock outfit made waves in 2018, garnering support from Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and the Radio 1 Rock Show surrounding the release of Goodbye Dinosaur... The success of the debut EP was unsurprising given the reaction to PHOXJAW's first ever release, their double A-side single Spin Club/Victorian Dolls (Pale Wizard Recordings) which sold out quickly. With their follow-up single 'Triceratops' and subsequent EP the band has received praise from a wide range of UK press: Kerrang! ("unhinged and mesmerising"), Metal Hammer ("inhabiting their own, unique musical world"), Rhythm Magazine ("already causing waves") and more.
There are few bands that sound as unique, infectious, or as powerful as PHOXJAW. Although hard to pigeonhole, the band are at times reminiscent of early Biffy Clyro, At The Drive-In and Cave In. The four-piece owe much to their melodic tenacity and driving, off-kilter riffs and mixed with their ferocious energy onstage and compelling personalities, PHOXJAW are firmly establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
Listen on Spotify
Press Club
At the hands of countless roadblocks facing the arts as a whole over recent years, Press Club spent all their time together crafting new material in their studio under the shadow of Melbourne’s Westgate Bridge. They focused relentlessly on songcraft, methodically burning through hundreds of demos. As time is currency, they paid a refined attention to timbre, instrumentation and dynamics they could never afford before, amidst their helter-skelter touring schedule.
With the promise of more new music imminent, Press Club kick off world wide touring and fans will be witness to the first taste of new tracks as well as favourites from albums Late Teens and Wasted Energy.
Listen on Spotify
Slomosa
Hailing from the west of Norway, the four-piece Slomosa has been making waves across borders. With their heavy sound the band coined their own genre - Tundra Rock - inspired by the American Desert scenes of the '90s. Influenced by bands such as Kyuss, Elder and Black Sabbath, their music is both heavy and groovy at the same time, with raw vocals and thunderous guitars. Growing up in a part of the country where high mountains and wild nature surrounds one, the group eventually came together in Bergen – coined by many as “the music capital of Norway”. After their debut concert late 2017, the band got signed despite not having released any music. After building a following through extensive gigging in their hometown, the band started working on their debut album. In October 2019 their first single, Horses, was released on all platforms, to much acclaim. The song premiered on national radio in Norway, with a notable Norwegian music journalist claiming it to be “...some of the best rock he’d heard the last years”. Their two following singles - There is Nothing New Under the Sun and In My Mind's Desert - further contributed to the band's growing hype, with Spotify listing their music on their official Stoner Rock playlist. Both singles further showcased Slomosa's unique ability to merge heavy riffs with catchy songwriting, catching the attention of rock fans all over the world.
We are excited to have the opportunity to re-press the 2020 self-titled debut album, scheduled for release on 29/04/22.
Listen on Spotify
Stake
Over a decade ago, four youngsters - barely 12 years old - started making music in a shabby rehearsal room, somewhere in Flanders’ Fields, Belgium. The music was loud, hard, and uncompromising. This was the very early beginnings for STAKE, under their long-term original band name ‘Steak Number Eight’,
At a ridiculous pace, the band kept producing new music and touring pretty relentlessly. Steak Number Eight had grown faster and bigger than they could have ever imagined: they were selling out Belgium’s biggest venues, played every serious rock festival across mainland Europe, and had been on the road supporting the likes of Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Deftones.
No one expected Steak Number Eight to call it a day. And that was never the intention of the band, but the name now felt outdated. The band wanted to capture fresh creativity under a new name: STAKE.
With the original line-up intact, they promised their metamorphosis would not simply be a change of name. Instead, STAKE is a brand new chapter with an unseen energy, producing a unique hyper atmospheric and grunge-influenced melodic post-metal.
Discussing debut STAKE single ‘Catatonic Dreams’ vocalist Brent Vanneste explained: ’This track is the ideal step up towards STAKE’s debut album. It summarizes our rough, yet warm schizophrenia perfectly. We feel this is the first time we’ve been able to capture the eclectic and intense live vibe of the band. We’re all very happy with this being the first track from our upcoming debut album; from STAKE you can expect more morbid tracks, with a romantic drive."
Listen on Spotify
The Joy Formidable
A Welsh rock trio with a predilection for delivering stadium-sized riffs with shoegazey vistas, the Joy Formidable emerged in 2011. Taking a cue from bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, and Arcade Fire, the trio continued to push their already expansive sound further on subsequent offerings like Wolf's Law (2013) and AAARTH (2018), while maintaining the hook-driven indie rock foundation laid down on their chart-topping debut.
Formed in North Wales in 2007, the band later resettled in London, The Joy Formidable began building a buzz in 2008, making appearances at several British festivals and earning high marks from publications like The Guardian, which recommended the band's "darkly joyous soft-loud racket."
After releasing several singles, the group issued the mini-album A Balloon Called Moaning in early 2009 which was released stateside in 2010. The Joy Formidable toured throughout the year and kicked off 2011 with the international release of The Big Roar, their well-received full-length studio debut. The band spent the following year writing its second record while on the road supporting Muse. The resulting Wolf's Law, which was recorded arrived in early 2013 and peaked at the number 51 slot on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., and at number 41 on the U.K. album charts.
In early 2016 they announced via Facebook that they would be releasing their much-anticipated third studio long-player, Hitch, later that March. The group went on to promote the record with a tour that spanned the U.K. and Europe, as well as playing an opening slot for Foo Fighters across North America. In 2017, the Joy Formidable got to work writing and recording their fourth record. Riffing on the Welsh word for "bear," the album, titled AAARTH, arrived in September 2018.
Listen on Spotify
The Used
Nearly twenty years ago, The Used was brought to life and have since released a collection of albums that shaped the space of the alternative rock scene. High energy live shows, gut wrenching relatable lyrics, and melodies that blended pop sensibility and hard rock was the perfect combination to make an everlasting impression on fans globally.
For the release of their eighth studio album, Big Noise will partner with Hassle Records for the UK and Europe. Hassle Records boss, Wez said “We have worked with a host of artists that come from the same, or similar, musical backgrounds and ethos to The Used - Frank Iero, Fall Out Boy, We Are The Ocean, Alexisionfire to name but a few. It’s Hassle’s 15th year in 2020 and to finally get to work with The Used is not only an honour, but it feels like a really natural fit for us to be partnering with them’.
Listen on Spotify
VIAL
We’ve partnered up with our friends at Get Better Records to offer a limited number of the upcoming new album from VIAL available via our webstore with local shipping.
We absolutely love this band and have been fans from afar for some time now, so to be given the chance to help share their music and make this new record a little more easily available physically for UK/EU fans was one we absolutely couldn't ignore!