listening notes 005: cliffrose — hooks imagining securities

Released on October 3rd, 2026, Hooks Imagining Securities is cliffrose’s debut album. cliffrose consists of Edweirdo (bass, vox), Nora Jenny (guitar, vox), Sam Jenny (drums, vox), and Isaac Pfosi (guitar, vox). Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Will Hirst in Easthampton, MA, the seven-track project is a powerhouse packed into just under 20 minutes.

The album opens with Wilson Song, beginning with a quote from Zack de la Rocha. This song is what punk feels like to me. In a world full of people unwilling to take a stance against hate, cliffrose punches you in the mouth with a wall of sound. They’re not afraid. 

The pacing of Wilson Song, mixed with lyricism that evokes spoken word, is a true highlight of the track. Even with the deliberate time they take to draw out their emotions, there’s a momentum building throughout. The tension is heavy until the ultimate release at the end of the track in a fury of drums.

This is the kind of opener that has you sitting on the edge of your seat in a sweet, sick kind of anticipation. Where else are they going to take us? How much further are they going to push?

Arlington, TX continues the momentum with twangy guitars. There’s a heaviness mixed with a danceability that feels fun and cathartic in the best way. The vocals alternate between melodic singing and screeching, with heavy guitars cutting in throughout, never quite allowing the song to settle into any one genre.

It feels like emotions met sound and made a chaotic little mess for us to step into. Like walking through a childhood memory, familiar but distorted. Like in Eternal Sunshine, when Clementine moves through Joel’s childhood memories.

Magic 8 Ball evokes a floaty, genre-less feeling, with beautiful guitars giving way to an alternative sound. It’s a reminder that they can sing just as well as they scream, and there’s beauty in both. This track is more downtempo, but the emotion never lets off.

This is a good album, period. Not a good emo album. Not a good screamo album. We've never been particularly interested in the policing of genre. Categorizing music can feel reductive, especially when the music itself refuses to sit still. We're not here to dictate what something should sound like. We just move with what moves us.

Track four, Eilie – A Light Left On by Eilie, is a full instrumental written for cliffrose by Eilie (Alec Blockis). It might seem to break the momentum built throughout the first three tracks, but the break feels intentional. 

In a world of constant consumption, there's power in slowing down. There's power in allowing yourself to sit with something without immediately moving on to the next thing.

And just as we've settled into that stillness, we’re thrown right back into the chaos.

That contrast creates a tension and discomfort that feels essential to understanding this project. From the beginning, this hasn't been an album meant for easy digestion. It wants to make you think, it wants to make you feel, it wants to make you move.

Full Moon is for raging. Heavy drums, screaming vocals, and shredding guitars from the very beginning of the track. The lyrics read like a love song, but the way this track feels, this must be heartbreak. This is a song that I would love to hear live.

The Girl With The Shitty Tattoo has probably my favorite guitar work in the whole project. “Now every song’s about you” stays stuck in my head, and we love the breakdown.

When we first listened, this was our favorite track and it's still a highlight of the album. Between the guitars, the vocals, the production, and the pacing, it feels like everything we’ve come to love about cliffrose in one song. 

Veins Like Water is the perfect way to end this album. The softer guitars work well to help bring us down a bit and re-center us. The emotion in the final 30 seconds is enough to make me hit replay like ten times. I've always loved when a song builds and builds until everything finally spills over, with the guitars ringing out like the last bit of emotion leaving your body. There's something so cathartic about that kind of release, and cliffrose does it beautifully here. 

It leaves me wanting to experience the whole thing all over again.

Ultimately, I was surprised by the emotional impact of this album. Seven songs, under 20 minutes, and somehow it’s seeping with emotion and packed full of energy. From tender moments to heavy walls of sound, this doesn’t feel like a collection of songs, but a thoughtful, cohesive look at who cliffrose is as a band. There’s something exciting about hearing a band so willing to explore their sound without losing who they are behind it. It's an exceptional debut, and we’re excited to hear what comes next.

album cover for Hooks Imagining Securities by cliffrose

Thank you for reading.

Hooks Imagining Securities is available for listening and purchase on Bandcamp.