Fish Stick: A Name Like a Street Snack, a Sound That Hits Like Post-Hardcore

30-second overview: Fish Stick (魚條) is a three-member indie rock band formed in Taipei in late 2011, with members all alumni of Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Senior High School: vocalist/guitarist Dennis Chang (張皓棠), bassist Jacob Lin (林鈺傑), and drummer Sandy Lien (連珊瑩). An original five-member lineup went through multiple changes and stabilized at the current three in 2015. They placed fourth at the 2016 Ditu Spring Wave Awards and were invited to perform at Shanghai Spring Wave. Their first full-length album, Antidote, was released December 31, 2019; Cloud and Sand followed in 2022; Forget Form in 2025. Vocalist Dennis also serves as music producer for Amazing Show (美秀集團 / Bisiu Group). The core contradiction: a name that sounds like a street snack; a sound that hits like post-hardcore. They say they're "not preachy," yet every song is the most direct thing they can say.

On December 31, 2019, Antidote was released.

That was the last day of the year. Not a random date — Fish Stick released their first full-length album on December 31, with ten tracks, on label Skyhigh Entertainment.¹

The date itself was a statement: not calculated for platform traffic peaks, not aligned with commercial calendar nodes. Just December 31.

Curator's note: "Not preachy — just the most direct expression of inner thoughts. The value of existence is the endless, relentless pursuit of the root cause."¹ — This is Fish Stick's official description of Antidote. A band that declares itself "not preachy" is, paradoxically, one of the most opinionated voices in the Taiwanese indie music scene.

The Starting Point at the Zhongzheng High School Intersection

Late 2011, Taipei. Three classmates from Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Senior High School decided to form a band.²

Vocalist and guitarist Dennis Chang (張皓棠 / Dennis Chang), bassist Jacob Lin (林鈺傑 / Jacob Lin, also known as Yagе), and drummer Sandy Lien (連珊瑩 / Sandy Lien, also affectionately called Sandy-bao). The original lineup was five members; after multiple lineup changes, they settled into the current three in 2015.

Fish Stick. English name: Fish Stick. The name sounds like a side dish from a street fried-chicken stall. But this band plays post-hardcore.

Fourth at Spring Wave

In 2016, Fish Stick placed fourth at the Ditu Spring Wave Awards (地球春浪大賞) and were invited to perform at Shanghai Spring Wave.³

That same year they released their first EP, with musical styles spanning Hardcore, Punk, Nu-Metal, Pop Rock, and electronic elements. For a band that only formed in 2011, the 2016 Spring Wave exposure was the first time they were seen on a meaningful scale. Starting from the format of a high school band, they stepped onto the indie festival stage that year.

Between Screaming and Singing

Fish Stick's music is not easy to summarize in a single sentence.

Starting from post-hardcore, they gradually incorporated Nu-Metal, Pop Rock, electronic music, and J-Rock contours. Hackazine described it as:

"The band folds the rock styles of the Mandarin-speaking world over the past decade or more — mainstream or underground — into American emo/screamo punk-scream elements, creating Fish Stick's unique new signature."⁴

Fresh Music Review adds another layer:

"The elements drawn upon lean more toward the 'Western' post-punk rock and dance music, while the vocal melodies are closer to Japanese and Mandarin pop."⁵

Western skeleton, East Asian melody, Chinese lyrics, screaming throat — this is Fish Stick's sonic recipe.

Dennis sometimes handles recording, mixing, and production himself. For "Ear Wind" (耳邊風), Blow described it: "Recorded, mixed, and produced personally by vocalist Dennis; this time going in the direction of furious screaming, micro-electronic, and punk-tinged." The lyrics reach this level of directness: "Pathetic, pitiful, deplorable! Useless, dregs, deadwood!"⁶

_Antidote_: The Last Day of the Year

Back to December 31, 2019.

Antidote — ten tracks, with the concept of "exploring the awakening between consciousness and subconsciousness."¹ Fresh Music Review gave it 7/10 and in 2020 listed Fish Stick as a rising band. The tracks on Antidote include the title track, "Pre-flight Preparation" (行前準備), "Composed" (從容不迫), and "Cry You a River" (哭你一條河) — every one of them dealing with a corner of inner life, no packaging, direct output.

Producers: Dennis Chang and Ping Cheng (鄭平). Executive producer: Shen Guangyuan and Luo Hongwu.¹

Dennis's Other Face

Beyond Fish Stick, Dennis also serves as music producer for Amazing Show (美秀集團 / Bisiu Group), producing their Sound Check EP and Electric Fire King album.³ Amazing Show goes in a Taiwanese-language pop fusion direction; Fish Stick plays post-hardcore — the two sound worlds are almost entirely different universes. Dennis works simultaneously in both.

After _Cloud and Sand_

On August 18, 2022, their second full-length album Cloud and Sand was released, with eleven tracks and 39 minutes total.⁷

On April 3, 2023, the single "Messenger of Passage" (過渡的使者) was released on StreetVoice. The band's official release description read:

"Deep feelings make us believe we carry a mission, so we struggle to climb toward the muddy swamp in another's heart, only to finally accept that we are each only a passage in each other's lives — the task is not fulfillment, but farewell. Like cloud and sand, always destined to brush past each other."⁸

In 2025, the album Forget Form (忘形) and single "Resonances" (鬨).

Fourteen years, three people, from Zhongzheng High School to now. Saying they're not preachy, and then every song is the most direct thing they can say.

Further Reading:

• Taiwan Indie Music Scene — From Sodagreen to Shallow Pool to Fish Stick's post-hardcore: the evolutionary timeline of Taiwanese indie music
• Shallow Pool — Also formed by Taipei high school classmates; a Golden Melody Best Band twice over — a post-rock counterpoint
• Waa Wei — Same-era Taiwanese indie artist, going a completely different R&B bedroom-pop direction
• Constant's Curveball — Taipei indie rock scene; vocal narrative as a reference point

External Links

• Instagram: @fish_stick_band
• Facebook: Fish Stick 魚條
• Spotify: Fish Stick (魚條)
• YouTube: Official channel

References