The Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania band One Step Closer arrived fully-formed a few years ago, bringing a kind of intense heart-on-sleeve melodic hardcore that can feel like an adrenaline needle to the soul. The former Stereogum Band To Watch released their excellent debut album This Place You Know in 2021, and they followed it with the three-song surprise EP Songs For The Willow last year. Today, OSC embark on a co-headlining tour with Koyo and Anxious, and they also announce the impending release of their sophomore album All You Embrace.

One Step Closer recorded All You Embrace with Drug Church/Drain collaborator Jon Markson, who also plays bass on the LP. Some of the songs came out of separate writing sessions with Knocked Loose’s Isaac Hale and Citizen’s Mat Kerekes. In a press release, bandleader Ryan Savitski says, “I wanted to showcase One Step Closer in its fullest state. Every single part of the band, I wanted it to be there. I wanted us to be 100% ourselves and be as authentic to our band as we could possibly be.”

The first single — appropriately enough, for today — is called “Leap Years.” It’s a grand and earnest rocker with some huge melodies. You can hear One Step Closer moving in a more accessible direction that recalls past generations of emo and post-hardcore, but the intensity remains. The song’s video tells a bittersweet story about the aftermath of teenage romance, and the band co-directed it with Derek Rathbun. Below, check out the “Leap Years” video, the All You Embrace tracklist, and One Step Closer’s upcoming tour dates.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Color You”
02 “Leap Years”
03 “Blur My Memory”
04 “The Gate”
05 “Your Hazel Tree”
06 “Orange Leaf”
07 “Esruc”
08 “Slow To Let Go”
09 “Topanga”
10 “Giant’s Despair”
11 “So Far From Me”

TOUR DATES:
2/29 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom *
3/01 – Richmond, VA @ Canal Club *
3/02 – Virginia Beach, VA @ The Bunker *
3/03 – Greenville, SC @ Radio Room *
3/05 – Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco *
3/07 – Springfield, MO @ The Riff *
3/08 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck *
3/09 – Des Moines, IA @ Woolys *
3/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line *
3/12 – Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray Arcade ^
3/13 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi ^
3/15 – Cleveland, OH @ Foundry ^
3/16 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme ^
3/17 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground ^
3/19 – London, ON @ Rum Runners ^
3/20 – Detroit, MI @ Edgemen ^
3/22 – Louisville, KY @ LBD Festival
3/23 – Nashville, TN @ The End ^
3/24 – Atlanta, GA @ Purgatory ^
3/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ^
3/27 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair ^
3/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch ^
5/25 – Hatfield, UK @ Slam Dunk Festival
5/26 – Leeds, UK @ Slam Dunk Festival

* with Koyo, Anxious, Life’s Question
^ with Koyo, Anxious, Stateside

All You Embrace is out 5/17 on Run For Cover.