Imagine a really scary version of the Hold Steady. As in: The Hold Steady don't just record triumphant story-songs about dangerous, desperate people; they are dangerous, desperate people. This is a wild oversimplification, but that's basically what's going on with the band known as Skinhead.
Skinhead started out as a solo project for Joshua Long, a hardcore veteran usually known by the name Skull. They make wordy, hardcore-influenced oi story-songs that are mostly by, for, and about skinheads, and Long's malevolent humor and storytelling eye always come through sharply. Last year, Skinhead released their full-length debut It's A Beautiful Day, What A Beautiful Day, which was one of my favorite hardcore albums of 2025. At the same time, Long published a short-story collection called Records On An Island. I haven't ready it, but I really should. Now, there's a new two-track Skinhead EP that builds on both the album and the book.
Skinhead's new EP The Plan: 1 has one actual song and one six-minute spoken-word track over tense synth-pulses. The song, also called "The Plan: 1," is prime Skinhead: a hard-driving two-minute rager about a violent criminal scheme. The other track works as a companion piece, getting deeper into the story of Dennis and Chase, two punks who get into some heavy shit on Thanksgiving night. Check it out below.
The Plan: 1 is out now on Closed Casket Activities.
