Sam Russo Is Still Taking the Long Way and Hold You Hard Proves Why It Matters

There’s a certain kind of songwriter who never seems interested in being “next.” No rush toward relevance, no algorithm chasing, no attempt to sound like whatever moment they’re supposedly meant to fit into. Sam Russo has always lived in that space, quietly defiant, deeply human, and steadily carving out something that feels truer with every release.

Hold You Hard, Russo’s fourth full-length for Red Scare Industries, finds him widening the frame without losing the focus. For the first time, these songs arrive backed by a full band. Chris Stockings on guitar, Josh Hurrell on bass, and Matt Walrond on drums and the result is not a departure so much as an expansion. The emotional core remains intact, but the sound now breathes wider, heavier, and more confidently.

Russo’s writing has always lived somewhere between solitude and motion. His imagery drifts from the wheat fields of East Anglia to the sun-faded romance of American coastlines, capturing the strange pull of distance, emotional and physical that defines so many lives lived on the road. Coming from far outside the UK’s traditional punk hubs, his perspective feels both grounded and unmoored, timeless yet immediate.

That sense of earned presence is central to Russo’s appeal. Whether alone with an acoustic guitar or fronting a band, he’s never sounded like someone chasing discovery. Instead, he’s become unmissable the slow way through miles logged, rooms played, and songs that stick because they feel lived-in.

Those miles include shared stages with Tim Barry, The Lawrence Arms, Lucero, and Dan Andriano. It was during a European run with Andriano and Brendan Kelly that Russo’s path crossed with Red Scare, a meeting that felt less like a business move and more like a natural alignment of values.

The band itself was born without ceremony. In the summer of 2023, Russo and company rehearsed after hours in the file room of a metal shop on an industrial estate in Haverhill. No glamour, no shortcuts just sweat, repetition, and discovery. That first burst of energy eventually became the opening track on Hold You Hard. Six months later, they turned fully toward the new record, shaping a sound that balances muscle with restraint.

The full-band tracks pulse with Southern California punk energy while grinding with unmistakable UK DIY grit. Meanwhile, the acoustic moments including a co-write with Vinnie Caruana remain instinctive and emotionally bare, reminding listeners that Russo’s strength has always been in his ability to sit with uncomfortable truths without flinching.

At its heart, Hold You Hard is a record about how love evolves, how it grows, fractures, softens, and sometimes survives despite itself. Russo writes about long-term relationships, family, friendship, heartbreak, memory, and place with an honesty that never tips into sentimentality. There’s joy here, but it’s the hard-won kind. Pain too, acknowledged, not romanticized.

That connection has translated powerfully live. A recent video captures the chaos and catharsis of Russo’s London and Manchester release shows: human pyramids, crowd surfing, and rooms full of voices singing every word back. Not spectacle for spectacle’s sake just the natural result of songs that belong as much to the crowd as they do to the songwriter.

Some artists burn bright and disappear. Others take the long way, trusting that honesty travels farther than hype. Sam Russo has always chosen the latter and with Hold You Hard, it’s clearer than ever that the long way is exactly where his songs belong.

Photo by Chris Stockings & Steve Haddock