With members split between Baltimore, Maryland and New York’s Hudson Valley, Negative Love will introduce themselves properly in early 2026 with the release of their self-titled debut EP on Static Era Records, the label that recently released the Integrity/Skarhead split collaboration.
Earlier this fall, Negative Love dropped the punchy single “Shades From Inside,” and they’ve now followed it up with the heavier “MTPPL,” offering a clearer view of the emotional and sonic space they’re carving out.
Sitting at the crossroads of hardcore, alt.rock, and shoegaze, the new EP layers aggression and atmosphere in equal measure—five tracks that vocalist/producer Brendan Williams says are meant to reflect the “plethora of emotions” that shaped the band’s earliest writing sessions.
For Williams, the story of Negative Love starts on the road. “I was touring playing guitar for Soul Blind when Mitch [guitar] approached me after a show about working with his band from Baltimore,” he explains.
The two ended up collaborating on a record together, discovering an immediate creative connection in the process. That chemistry sparked conversations about starting something of their own, and Negative Love grew naturally out of that shared momentum.
Trying to pin the band down stylistically is part of the fun. “Negative Love is music for people with ADD by people with ADD,” Williams says with a laugh. While listeners have compared their sound to Turnstile, Deftones, and Helmet, the band themselves don’t feel tethered to any particular lane. “We just do whatever feels right,” he adds, noting that embracing unpredictability has become a core part of the project.
The new single “MTPPL” digs into the concept behind the band’s name itself. “It’s about ‘negative love,’” Williams says. “It’s a critique and a love letter to the hardcore scene—why I tried to leave and couldn’t. It’s about gatekeeping, violence, aesthetics, and our lack of introspection.”
That tension—being pulled in two directions emotionally but still grounded in the community that shaped you—runs deeply throughout the EP.
With their debut release finally on deck, Negative Love are planning to stay as busy as possible. “We’ll have CDs, vinyl, and other fun stuff to go with it,” Williams says. “We’ve got a few shows in the works, and we’re hoping to play as much as we can in as many different places as we can.”
Before wrapping, Williams shouts out a few names from their local scenes. “Check out King in Yellow! Kevin [drums] also plays in Let Me Drown, Colony, Cross of Disbelief, and Godskin Peeler—which the rest of us bump on repeat.”
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Negative Love's self-titled EP will be out on January 16th via Static Era Records.
Negative Love on social media: Instagram
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