It’s gritty. It samples Chris Farley. It’s the first thing in a hot minute that’s made me go, “This is IT.” The melodic hardcore band DIME officially released their self-titled EP on streaming on February 11, 2024, and it’s already making waves.

The band consists of members Pablo Rozencweig, Lucas Garcia, Anthony Corredor, Carlos De Armas, and Oscar Rodríguez, and is based out of Miami, FL. The band only popped up within the last year, but with the help of independent publishing house Feral Child HQ, they’ve managed to catch on like wildfire. The two groups have been working closely together to work on their S/T project, and as this ramped up, DIME also hopped on the album tour for Gravess, playing shows in Tampa, Gainesville, and Jacksonville, as well as other shows through Equinox Booking.

Within promotional materials, Feral Child described DIME as “a mix of pensive emotional turbulence with crushing wall-of-sound moments that leave you little choice but to linger within the self, and reflect on memories of a melancholic past” and it’s clear that these musical elements are what’s earning it continual comparisons to the indelible band Title Fight online. The harsh screams and driving bass lines definitely channel this as well as Rozencweig’s vocals, which echo Ned Russin, but this is not to say they are not carving out a space for themselves.

Their single off of the EP, “Flourish”, proves that they have the ability to make a big impact. The lyrics are nothing if not relatable, focusing on feeling stagnant in life, that adulthood is stripping the optimism and drive you have away entirely in favor of existential crisis. Another powerhouse is the absolutely wicked track “Heavyweight”, which features fantastic, gritty vocals and gets stuck in your head the second you press play. Seriously. On a personal level, I think I’ve listened to this EP more than I have anything else this month.

With something that sounds this good, you can’t help but want to figure out how they’re already at such a high level. Turns out, these guys have a history together with the band The Old Youth, a project from a while back sparking after they met in and after high school. When asked about the difference between the two projects for the zine Dog Piss (accessible through @dogpissrecords on Instagram), the bassist, Anthony, said, “We’ve all grown individually since forming ‘TOY”… What we do for DIME just… feels right, you know?” These two projects are different eras not only for sound but general reaction. It seems that everyone seems to be having the same reaction to these guys; comments are filled with people praising how sick it is, anxiously awaiting the next show, or saying how the band is the future.

And, honestly, it might be. Big things are happening for hardcore in South Florida at the moment. If DIME is any example for the incendiary bands coming up out of the area, then my attention will be on not only the band itself but those they associate with. When an entire area seems to be cooking with gas, you can’t help but keep an eye out.

Do yourself a favor and listen to “Dime”: