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Long defined by his singular voice and quietly defiant songwriting, Sam Russo continues to chart his own course, never chasing trends, always reaching for something honest. Hold You Hard, his fourth full-length release with Red Scare Industries out today, finds him expanding his sound with a full band: Chris Stockings (guitar), Josh Hurrell (bass), and Matt Walrond (drums). Together, they explore themes of distance, desire, and dislocation, drawing on imagery that drifts between the wheat fields of East Anglia and the faded romance of American coastlines. Below you can check out the video for "The Muckleshoot Casino", written after a haunting visit to a Washington casino.

Russo has built a loyal following the long way: through relentless touring and word of mouth, sharing stages with artists like Tim Barry, The Lawrence Arms, Lucero, and Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio. It was on a European tour with Andriano and Brendan Kelly (The Lawrence Arms) that the pair introduced Russo’s music to Red Scare, sparking a creative partnership that continues to this day.

Though he hails from far outside the traditional UK punk strongholds and music cities, Russo’s perspective is anything but detached. There’s a timelessness to his writing, introspective yet immediate, rooted in solitude but always reaching outward. Whether performing solo or with a band, he remains a uniquely vital presence in modern punk-inspired songwriting: not chasing discovery, just steadily becoming unmissable.

In summer 2023, Russo formed a new band, rehearsing after hours in the file room of a metal shop on an industrial estate in Haverhill. They sweated and grafted and found a sound that summer, and they started writing parts that would become the first song on Hold You Hard. Six months later the band turned its energy towards Russo’s new material.

“I decided to write five full band songs and five acoustic ones – to go as far as I could into my influences and emotions as I could without holding anything back,” says Russo.

The full-band tracks pulse with the spirit of Southern California punk and grind with the grit of the UK DIY scene, made whole by Russo’s unmistakably unique songwriting. The acoustic side was written mostly solo – fast, instinctive, and emotionally raw – including a co-write with Vinnie Caruana (The Movielife, I Am The Avalanche). It’s intimate, at times cryptic, but also fun and honest.

At its heart, Hold You Hard is about how love grows, fades, and changes shape. Across its songs, Russo explores long-term relationships, family, heartbreak, friendship, memory and place – all without flinching from the joy or pain that comes with giving yourself to another.