An outdoor group portrait photograph showing the band starsdontmeananything posing along the edge of a paved road against a desert landscape. Four band members stand and crouch outdoors under a clear blue sky with rocky hills and sparse green trees in the background. On the far left, a band member with long brown hair stands wearing a white t-shirt, brown trousers, and white sneakers. To their right, a band member with visible arm tattoos stands wearing a dark sleeveless graphic shirt, long dark shorts, and dark boots. Crouched in the middle, a third member wearing a pink cap, dark t-shirt, and light shorts looks toward the camera. On the far right, a fourth member with curly hair stands in profile wearing a dark shirt and pink shorts, touching their hair under bright daylight.starsdontmeananything Credit: starsdontmeananything / Instagram

Naturally, hardcore bands are on every corner of Bandcamp, but the 2025 outing from Starsdontmeananything stands out.

From the opening (“Controlled Burn”) to the in between (“Knowing How To Leave,” “Stainless Steel,” the title track), the Oakland outfit works quiet, experimental moments into Fire Is Beautiful, a record that’s chock full of tough riffs and devastating breakdowns (“Pulling Teeth”) for fans of Funeral Diner and Pageninetynine.

“Soul crushing metalcore” band Reap What You Sow opens alongside St. Pete nü-core outfit Indebted, and post-hardcore quartet Luciidea.

Tickets to see Starsdontmeananything, Reap What You Sow, Indebted, and Luciidea at Deviant Libation in Tampa on Tuesday, Sept. 29 are still available and start at $13.40.

Fire Is Beautiful by starsdontmeananything

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This article appears in Sept. 24 – 30, 2026.

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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief…
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