Since forming in 2023, Boston’s Haywire has built serious momentum on the back of relentless touring, a doozy of a live reputation, and a whopping four releases. I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye is billed as the band’s second full-length, though at barely 20 minutes, it registers more like a glorified EP.

The record opens with Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” before launching into Haywire’s own track of the same name. Paired with the title cut, both songs swap hardcore/oi! grit the band came out swinging with for pop-leaning hooks. Single “Interstate Love Affair” doubles down on those slicker tendencies, sitting awkwardly alongside the two-stepper action of “Flex Your Head” and the fast-paced bruiser that is “Forever Alone.”

Lyrically, there is little depth to salvage the material with lines like “I don’t want to have to, I don’t wanna say it to you, I don’t want to have to say it to you, I don’t wanna say goodbye” and “I need you, I miss you, I can’t live without you.”

To top it all off, Citizen’s Mat Kerekes does the band no favors behind the mixing board, turning in production that feels meh at best. For all the buzz surrounding them, Haywire’s latest is rather tough to justify.