Articles

2024 Year End Top Tens, Part One

• By Maximum Rocknroll

Welcome to 2025, and welcome to Maximum Rocknroll‘s 2024 Year-End Top Tens. Once again, we asked MRR reviewers, friends, fellow travelers, and extended family from all over the world about what punk records defined the year for them.

Part one of three this week, part two to follow next week.

ALEX HOWELL

Alex Howell reviews records for MRR and hosts the podcast Garbage in My Heart. When he’s not doing that (or working a boring nine-to-five), you can find him out and about in Indianapolis reading comics at third-wave coffee shops, running long distances, or hunched over his phone flipping through kanji flashcards.

2024: what a limp-ass year. A fleck of spittle flung from the mouth of a society that’s constantly shouting but has little to say beyond stating its preference for violence and the status quo. A flake of dandruff shrugged off the shoulders of a culture so algorithm-flattened it struggles to produce art of a quality fit to float above the AI slop we’re all drowning in. Punk has often served as a bulwark against this kind of horseshit—and I guess it still does—but 2024 has certainly tested its strength.

Nevertheless, there have been some bolstering pillars—here are ten I’d like to highlight in no particular order.

ADDED DIMENSIONS – Time Suck / Hellbent EP (Domestic Departure)
Five perfect tracks—an irresistible mix of primitive post-punk and DIY pop. I’ve been rocking back and forth to “Impulsive”’s metronomic groove since April. Maybe my favorite release of the year.

Total Punk
Rich has been putting out records for nearly two decades, and there have been multiple years in that stretch where he could lay claim to the best label in punk. But he’s really outdone himself in 2024. Not only did he put out nine great LPs, which alone may have been a record for the label, but 2024 ushered in the welcome return of the hand-stamped Total Punk 7” in the form of the Order of the Dirty Plates singles club—eight essential records (seven of which definitely came out this year and one that might) from a who’s who of contemporary total punkers. Having one of these turn up on my doorstep every few weeks was easily among my favorite things to happen this year. If I had to shout out a release from each format, I’m going all-Canadian with the RETAIL SIMPS LP and the PUPPET WIPES 7”.

DIE ÖWAN – 美​川​憲​一 (Mikawa Ken​-​Ichi) LP (General Speech)
DIE ÖWAN – Öwannibalism LP (General Speech)
Remember Shaq’s dunk on Chris Dudley? Where he backs Dudley down with all the difficulty a regular person would have pushing through a beaded curtain, then spins, jams it in, swings into Dudley crotch-first, and slides down the 6’ 11” center like a fireman’s pole, shoving him to the ground as he lands? It was one of the most demoralizing dunks in the history of the sport. Dudley is so thoroughly embarrassed that he reflexively scrambles to his feet and hucks the ball at Shaq. I mention this because General Speech has similarly dunked on the other nerds in the archival release game this year by piling up the essential releases—the two DEEF LPs, the LEGION OF PARASITES 12”, the PUNCTURE 7”, the SWANKY’S LP—all incredible shit! I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point out Tom’s thoughtful take on consumerism in punk and its environmental impacts—solid work! But if I’m picking something to serve as the label’s crowning achievement, it would be bringing these two DIE ÖWAN releases to the masses. Initially a couple of cassettes that came out in the early ’80s made by two teens from suburban Osaka who loved punk, new wave, and noise (e.g, No New York and CABARET VOLTAIRE), and wanted to try their hand at it by tossing it all in a blender. What came out was something like 200 tracks, most only lasting a couple of seconds—a mix of originals, covers, reinterpretations, and racket for racket’s sake that kind of presaged egg-punk but also sounds unlike anything else out there. Listening experience of the year!

ALVILDA – C’est Deja L’heure LP (Static Shock)
November through April in Indy feels like one long, uninterrupted smear of gray. It’s a stretch I struggle through in the best of times, let alone this shitty time we all find ourselves in. So, this LP of perfectly crafted punk pop that dropped in late October couldn’t have come out at a better moment. Imagine DOLLY MIXTURE playing “Beat Your Heart Out,” or NIKKI AND THE CORVETTES playing “Red with Purple Flashes”—it might not be breaking any molds, but it’s so incredibly bright and upbeat that you can’t help but feel better while it’s on. The aural equivalent of a S.A.D. lamp!

JUDGES – Gun / (The People Want a) Show 7” (Anti-Fade / Drunken Sailor)
The inverse of that ALVIDA album: feel-bad record of the year! Rifftastic downer punk from Down Under, perfect for carrying a knife to or soundtracking a misery-wallowing session.

CHAOS OK – Chaos OK demo cassette (Sorry State)
CHAOS OK is a new project from Nick Goode, one of the main creative forces behind two of my favorite 2010s acts: BRAIN F≠ and JOINT D≠. This sounds a lot like JOINT D≠, so it’s great. Pumped my dude is writing music again!

NAG – Fear cassette (Black Hole / Future Shock / Urticaria)
Back in 2020, I made the claim that every year Brannon Greene puts something out is a year he’ll make an appearance in my top ten. My tune has not changed. Green’s project NAG released a tape in 2024. Here it is.

SHOP REGULARS – Shop Regulars LP (Merrie Melodies)
Portland, OR’s Matt Radosevich mixes the looping prog-punk of Marquee Moon with the wry, blown-out guitar rock of the COUNTRY TEASERS to make one of the more unique albums of the year. Extremely my shit!

FEN FEN – National Threat LP (Sweet Time)
Realest-feeling release of the year! What does that mean? I’m not really sure, but my gut says it’s true. It’s definitely the one I went back to most often.

HITS – World of Dirt LP (Paisley Shirt)
This year’s record that most feels like a cassette, and tied with FEN FEN for realest-feeling release of the year. I will not be elaborating. I really did love this one, though.

ARTO HIETIKKO

Arto Hietikko is currently doing his share to keep DIY punk alive by running the label/distro Nunchakupunk and being heavily involved with the annual Puntala-rock DIY punk fest in Finland. He’s also the editor of the long-running Toinen Vaihtoehto zine (that’s on a long, possibly interminable hiatus).

2024 was another terrific year for punk, so my list was created after lots of inner struggle:

ALAMBRADA – Rios de Sangre LP (Autsajder Produkcija / Fuerza Ingobernable)
I saw ALAMBRADA at the K-town Hardcore Fest matinee show in July, and it was a totally incredible burst of hi-octane energy, an insane hardcore noise attack straight to your eardrums. Their debut LP, too, is nothing less than pure Bogotá HC/punk excellence: a breakneck whirlwind, absolutely raging thrash. This is so insanely good and loaded with energy it makes many other releases sound stale and tired. Highest recommendations.

VAMPIRE – What Seems Forever Can Be Broken LP (Televised Suicide)
This is some of the very best anarcho-punk made in a long time, and probably even the best punk release of 2024 in my book. It’s passionate, it sounds very punk, and it ticks all the right boxes for me. I’m absolutely infatuated with this LP.

KRIEGSHÖG – Love & Revenge LP (La Vida Es Un Mus)
So simple, yet so bloody effective and infectious. Somehow this album brings another Japanese classic, ORDER’s Taep’o-Dong, to my mind in its perfection. Those bass lines make me want to know how to play bass. And even though I don’t know how to play, I have grabbed my bass numerous times while listening to this LP to try to play along. Stoner rock riffage? A bit, yeah. Punk? Yes! Powerful as hell? Definitely!

MURO – Nuevo Dogma LP (Fuerza Ingobernable)
To me, MURO is one of the most important contemporary punk bands. They are political, uncompromising, DIY to the bone, punk to the heart, and an insanely great live band. Nuevo Dogma, their third LP, is a manifesto about everything MURO represents in every way. Each record comes in a package assembled by the band, featuring screenprinted and handmade jackets, three posters, and a booklet. Musically, Nuevo Dogma, just like the previous 12”s, takes influences from about every decade/corner of punk/HC, yet sounds like no one else  but MURO, as they seem to weave the influences almost effortlessly into a sound of their own. That sound is raw, explosive, exciting, and as punk as can be.

BLOODSTAINS – Bloodstains 12″ (Drunken Sailor)
BLOODSTAINS sound very much like old SoCal punk: ADOLESCENTS, AGENT ORANGE, SHATTERED FAITH, early SOCIAL DISTORTION, D.I.; etc, all bands I used to listen to a lot at some point back in the day. I don’t know any other contemporary band doing this style this damn well. The songwriting here is terrific, and BLOODSTAINS have captured the sound so perfectly that the songs sound familiar already when you hear them the first time. It’s almost hard to believe this was not recorded in 1981. Listening to BLOODSTAINS makes me enjoy life for a moment.

NO FUTURE – Mirror LP (Iron Lung / Televised Suicide)
I didn’t expect to like this LP this much, but when I got it and put it on my turntable, I was hooked by NO FUTURE’s bass-driven noisy hardcore punk, and I soon came to notice I had an urge to play it every day. Mirror is a total sonic assault with loads of riffs. Every part on this noisy LP works together flawlessly and makes my eardrums vibrate with joy. Smashing.

STRAW MAN ARMY – Earthworks LP (D4MT Labs / La Vida Es Un Mus)
STRAW MAN ARMY completes their album trilogy with Earthworks, keeping up the quality we expect from them. Anarcho-punk as a base, but often hiding under all those various influences, pop melodies suddenly almost turning into progressive rock, or making you wonder what the hell you are actually listening to—did someone put a GONG LP on while you were not watching? Definitely not your average anarcho-punk album. Classy and impressive, possibly even able to take you to new heights, who knows.

YELLOWCAKE – A Fragmented Truth EP (Not For The Weak / Total Peace)
Noisy hardcore executed like there’s no tomorrow. This is a crushing 7”, raw as hell. A perfect soundtrack for the desperate times we’re living in. The world is an ugly place where ugly things happen, at this very moment. Why not put some YELLOWCAKE on.

ΠΛΕΚΤΑΝΗ (PLEKTANI) – Καλλιτεχνικές Ανησυχίες LP (Χάος Αντικομφορμισμός)
A debut release by a newly formed Greek DIY hardcore/D-beat band PlLEKTANI, comprised of members from such terrific bands as Χωρίς Οίκτο (HORIS IKTO), LIFEWRECK, and CHAIN CULT. What you get is ten absolutely crushing tracks of powerful top-class hardcore punk. If PLEKTANI does not make your heart pump faster, you probably don’t like hardcore. Don’t worry, there’s always shoegaze and honky-tonk.

MIRAGE – Legato Alla Rovina LP (Roachleg)
MIRAGE from New York, with Italian vocals, recreates the sound of Italian ‘80s HC while managing to not sound like an unimaginative carbon copy of something in the past. They have lots of intensity and enough frantic rhythms and unpredictability to keep you alert. I liked their Immagini Postume EP a lot, but this LP is a gem.

Here are some releases not on my list, but definitely worth paying attention to: JUVENTUD PODRIDA – Control / Encierro EP, FUERA DE SEKTOR – Juegos Prohibidos LP, WHITE COLLAR – White Collar LP, ALVILDA – C’est Déjà L’heure LP, DHK – Haz Sentir tu Odio LP, PAPRIKA – Let’s Kill Punk LP, S.H.I.T. – For a Better World 12”, GOLPE – Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati. EP, INDIKATOR B – B.N.J. EP, ATAQUE ZERO – Ciudades 12”, INDUSTRY – A Self Portrait at the Stage of Totalitarian Domination of All Aspects of Life LP.

The best gig I saw in 2024: ALAMBRADA, 15th June at K-town Hardcore Fest matinee show, Copenhagen.

Other great gigs I saw: MURO, KORIDOR, PLASMA, JUGGLING JUGULARS, UNIDAD IDEOLOGICA, JALANG, VIDRO, BOMBARDEMENT.

BILLIAM

Billiam is a musician from Naarm (Melbourne), Australia who makes various autism sounds.

SPLIT SYSTEM – Vol. 2 LP (Goner / Legless)
An endless beam of hot sun beaming down onto melting black concrete on the street out the front of a run-down bar. SPLIT SYSTEM put together eleven more perfect heavy-hitters with cracked teeth and endless riffage, able to reflect on itself then smash the mirror against the wall in a fit of rage—oddly mature, yet with the energy of a cheetah who’s just picked up a blues driver. The definition of a crowd-pleaser.

PLEASANTS – Rocanroll in Mono LP (Under the Gun)
It’s very rare a record can put such an infectious smile across my face no matter how shite a mood I’m in. Pitch-perfect monaural production further propels these ten Friday night anthems from the home of chicken treat, but with the fastest drummer this side of the Southern Hemisphere—it’s the sound of a long night at a bowling alley alone only with your friends that goes until the next morning.

KOSMETIKA – Luxury LP (Spoilsport)
Floating along a river that the KINKS and GARY NUMAN once rowed down, KOSMETIKA builds another sandcastle on the moon neighbouring the alright mighty one they built last year. Luxury is a playlist you’d put on if you were driving a sports car in zero gravity with a mermaid smoking a cigar in the backseat. I’m left with only obscure metaphors to describe this record, it’s that ethereally good in every aspect.

PACK RAT – Can’t Stop LP (Drunken Sailor)
Who knew there were this many badass punk riffs left to write? Patrick and the rats blaze through thirteen perfect punk tracks as snarky as they are sweet, calling back to all the best L.A. and KBD records in a fresh summer cocktail. It’s the punk record you dream of finding in the depths of a record collection (bonus points for “Ask a Punk” having the best set of lyrics of any song this year, I think about it a lot).

BUSTED HEAD RACKET – Go Go Go! LP (Erste Theke Tonträger)
While you were thinking about what to have for lunch, BUSTED HEAD RACKET just did sixteen laps around the room and broke all the windows in a fit of rage and sorrow, all while humming the eternally catchiest tunes ya ever heard. Bass, synth, drums, whistle, tambourine, anything except a guitar because BUSTED HEAD RACKET is above that. It’s lightning escaping a bottle and blasting out your eardrum. Perfection in every sense of the word.

AUTOBAHNS – First LP (Feral Kid / Legless / Phantom)
Maybe it’s the keyboard hooks, maybe it’s the snarky quips found in the lyrics, maybe it’s the relentless speed, maybe it’s Giuliano’s handsome skater looks. Whatever the heck, AUTOBAHNS chucked onto this platter had me constantly coming back to this LP—day after day, I was swept off my feet by this twelve-track masterpiece of modern synth punk. Throw away your phone and get on a skateboard and blast it.

BLITZER – Dumb cassette (Flennen)
Firstly, BLITZER was the best set I saw this year by a country mile. Secondly, gosh darn, this EP is sweet! New wave with an infectious energy and restless desire to jump out the window onto a trampoline, chorus pedals and ever-changing drum beats and the best cowbell hits of the year (a prestigious achievement). Now is the time to hop on the Teenage Dreamboat before BLITZER drops the best LP of 2025.

CUTTERS – Psychic Injury LP (Drunken Sailor / Legless)
Are you worked up? Stressed? Your heart about to crack and atrophy? Too fucking bad, so are CUTTERS, and all they can do is turn every instrument to twelve and play them with all the delicacy of an axe-grinder. The hardest migraine I’ve had the pleasure of looping in my brain at any given opportunity, not one tranquil moment of sanity to be found among the fifteen slices of splintered hardcore guaranteed not to give you a good night’s sleep.

ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 – Hot Wheels EP (self-released)
ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 somehow put out nine releases this year, one year after putting out a sixty-nine-track album. They’ve found the secret to both quality and quantity. Danceable and endlessly infectious, it’s the sound of pop’n’roll freedom with lots of chorus and synth melodies. I’m picking this one because it not only rocks the most, but all the songs are about automobiles which is always a recipe for rocking tunes.

RUDE TELEVISION – Disconnect EP (self-released)
I was finalising this list when this four-track EP kicked its way close to the top out of nowhere. Pure joy emanates out of every snare hit run through the warmest hug in the sunshine after a year of cold days, funny considering the frustration in all the lyrics. It’s got the hooks that linger in your head as the chorus pedal enters into your bloodstream with maybe the best production of any release that graced my ears. Goddamn!

ERIKA ELIZABETH

Erika Elizabeth plays bass in the band COLLATE, puts out records via Domestic Departure, and does reviews and radio for MRR. She lives on unceded Cowlitz/Clackamas land in so-called Portland, Oregon.

Ten things from 2024, in alphabetical order:

ARTIFICIAL GO – Hopscotch Fever LP (Feel It)
An incessant wiggle of sparse and trebly guitar, solidly skeletal drumming, and mannered, alternately animated/nonplussed faux-Brit-accented vocals are roughed-up in a charmingly lo-fi and ramshackle recording, placing yet another daisy in the chain connecting today’s Midwestern post-punk weirdos to both the art school new wave eccentricity of SUBURBAN LAWNS and the scratchy naivety of late ’70s/early ’80s Rough Trade—the sort of band that would perform on rollerskates while decked out in loud, upcycled vintage outfits neo-New Wave Theatre-style, as they do in the video for “Pay Phone.”

AUS – Der Sch​ö​ne Schein EP (Static Age)
These Berlin-based creatures of the night have been keeping the shadow-dimmed flames of XMAL DEUTSCHLAND and MALARIA! burning into the third millennium. Stern, goth-adjacent post-punk with all of the coldness and severity of a concrete Eastern Bloc factory floor—tom-pounded drums, sinister bass rumble, sharp clips of air raid siren guitar, borderline funky death-disco choruses, vocals cutting in like echoes in a claustrophobic crypt, pitch-black perfection.

CLICKBAIT – At Your Leisure LP (self-released)
The debut record from Chicago’s CLICKBAIT is an unwavering testament to rhythm, propelled by roundabout, ESG-descended bass lines and four-on-the-floor, hi-hat-rattling beats, with sparse shocks of single-note guitar dropping in judiciously alongside equally concise lyrical missives from vocalist Sandra, whose matter-of-fact deadpan delivery periodically slips into more animated shrieks. A self-contained minimal DIY disco dance party to heat up even the chilliest Midwestern basement.

DRILL – Permanent LP (Abandon Everything)
The vinyl tombstone for Philly trio DRILL, who released this LP in commemoration of breaking up. Eight tracks of skronky, shouty panic punk that have the art-schooled “household appliances as instruments” electro-wave of the first CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE single positioned as the angel on one shoulder, and the early ’00s tech-hell dance punk agitation of NUMBERS as the devil on the other—cowbell is banged generously, synth whirrs and squiggles and squeals, and gyration-ready bass lines hold everything together like extra-sticky Krazy Glue.

G2G – The Gherkin LP (Lulu’s Sonic Disc Club)
G2G takes an economical approach to post-punk that is clearly borne out of collaboration, friendship, and creative trust, where the whole is, by design, far more than the sum of its parts. A modern OZ DIY throwback to the neo-ELASTICA snappiness of those two killer PRIMETIME singles (from a literal decade ago now?!), and on the other side of the ’90s inspiration coin, the Slampt Records-adjacent girl gang sound of SKINNED TEEN, PUSSYCAT TRASH, and LUNG LEG.

GUIDING LIGHT – Guiding Light cassette (Down South)
Five tracks whipping by in a flurry of jangly hyper-strummed guitar (bordering on early WEDDING PRESENT velocity), incessantly bobbing bass, breakneck drumming, and mile-a-minute bilingual German/English femme vocals—it’s the dream world collision of BIG FLAME and HANS-A-PLAST that I never knew that I needed

HITS – World of Dirt LP (Paisley Shirt)
The third release from the Bay-spawned trio HITS, and their third time on one of my year-end top tens—an unprecedented feat. Wonky, early K Records-style pop primitivism with a damaged post-punk streak (skronking sax, rickety electronic drums, detours into freeform noise), twisting into all sorts of unpredictable shapes like the MARINE GIRLS playing string games with SWELL MAPS.

MARCEL WAVE – Something Looming LP (Feel It / Upset! the Rhythm)
Chipper-sounding (but often conceptually dead serious), twee-leaning post-punk, where keyboards bubble alongside casually rattling tambourine, talky deadpan vocals give way to sweetly soaring harmonies à la DOLLY MIXTURE/GIRLS AT OUR BEST!, and sharp, narrative lyrical musings examine the likes of stratified social class in the UK, unchecked urban development, the double-edged sword of fame, and the monotony of routine capitalist labor.

NEUTRALS – New Town Dream LP (Slumberland / Static Shock)
New Town Dream expands on the world first built on NEUTRALS’ 2022 EP Bus Stop Nights, offering snapshots of mundane lived realities in the “New Towns” that proliferated in the UK during the ’60s/’70s, and more specifically, the resulting psychic tension of being pushed toward the margins and becoming just another cog in a deeply broken machine. Razor-edged rhythm and kaleidoscopic mod pop jangle; perfect C86 sounds for hellish C24 times.

34 TROLLEY – Relaxation 12” (Feel the Four)
Downtown 81 done 2024-style, riding the 99 Records express train direct from LIQUID LIQUID to ESG. Möbius loop bass lines and dead-stare disco drums carve out some extended, rump-shaking minimalist grooves, punctuated by quick slashes of Andy Gill-esque guitar and sparse, sung/chanted vocals mirroring 34 TROLLEY’s guiding musical principles of economy and repetition with lyrics pared down to only the most direct calls to action—think of the caustically danceable “Go Ahead” as an answer song to “Too Many Creeps.”

ERIN O’HARE

Erin O’Hare co-hosts Black Circle Revolution on WTJU 91.1 FM, and plays bass in OUTER WORLD, ADDED DIMENSIONS, and RADON ABATEMENT. She also books shows at Visible Records, a community arts and organizing space. She lives in so-called Charlottesville, Virginia, on unceded Monacan and Manahoac lands, where she works as a journalist in a local nonprofit newsroom.

ADDED DIMENSIONS – Time Suck/Hellbent EP (Domestic Departure)
Disclosure: I loved this record so much, I joined the band. And then I learned the songs and loved them even more. Sarah Everton (of BLOWDRYER, TELEPATHIC, BLEEDING RAINBOW) writes all of the songs and recorded everything on the EP except the drums (that was longtime collaborator Rob Garcia). She says that most of her songs are about how jobs suck. Taking such a dull, monotonous topic and turning it into brilliance—and doing it over and over again without making it rote—is the work of a genius. Erika’s description on the Domestic Departure page nails it: “WIRE rubbing elbows with the SHOP ASSISTANTS as a C86 band? A Kim Deal-fronted URINALS? Charms you can’t resist!”

ARTIFICIAL GO – Hopscotch Fever LP (Feel It / Future Shock)
A delightful, poppy post-punk debut oozing with style. Forty-five years ago, they might have been on Rough Trade, but they’re here now and studying SUBURBAN LAWNS, early FALL, and SPREAD JOY through a pair of cat-eye sunglasses. The lean instrumentation is a hook-laden bed for Angie Wilcutt’s breezy-cool, faux-Brit delivery of lyrics that feel good in the mouth. All of that is to say: it sounds like fun.

CLEAR CHANNEL – Public Access LP (Hot Fruit)
If PRINCE was in ESG, it would be CLEAR CHANNEL. Public Access is the second full-length from this Washington, D.C. dub-y disco punk band, and it’s full of songs about the necessity of community, trusting yourself, and learning to enjoy your life. Joy has a place in the revolution, and CLEAR CHANNEL won’t let us forget it.

DIODE – 2 LP (Under the Gun)
After enjoying the band’s self-titled LP from 2020 so much, I was more than ready when DIODE’s spaceship fluttered back into the atmosphere and transmitted these fourteen wild, wonky alien synth punk scorchers into my stereo. Featuring members of ADVOIDS, VAGUESS, and SEUDO YOUTH. Beam me up, DIODE!

GUIDING LIGHT – Guiding Light cassette (Down South)
An energetic burst of frenzied, jangling guitar, rumbling agit-bass, relentless drums, and hollering vocals that is over just as it’s getting started. Will we have more soon, GUIDING LIGHT? Please say yes. On a mixtape, I’d sandwich it between KRIMI and POISON GIRLS.

MARCEL WAVE – Something Looming LP (Feel It / Upset! The Rhythm)
An exciting record from members of SAUNA YOUTH and COLD PUMAS that, when I first heard it, made my eyes go wide. “I love this,” I said out loud to no one. I’ve been thinking for months about how to describe this, in case MRR asked me to do a list again. Here I am, writing said list after months of thinking, and this is all I’ve got: if the KINKS were a 21st century post-punk band and made Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire (bonus tracks included) with input from AU PAIRS, it would be Something Looming.

PURPUR SPYTT – Scavenges, Time-Travels, and Scrapbooks LP (Mini Distro Label)

A wiggly, wave-y, bass-and-keyboard-forward offering in which Charlotte Mermoud (MARAUDEUR, STACHES) ruminates on everything from unwanted hand-me-downs to seemingly endless rainy days and trying to leave a party. The fourteen tracks are bouncy, groovy, and a little weird, a set of sneaky earworms that’ll pop into your head and take over when you’re not thinking about anything at all.

SKEET – Simple Reality LP (Efficient Space)
Another unearthing of a DIY UK post-punk gem, this one from 1980, from a short-lived trio in Coventry that existed in 1980. SKEET played pop-oriented, minimalist post-punk, à la PEL MEL and YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS, or at times PYLON, but with a drum machine and soft vocals.

STRAW MAN ARMY – Earthworks LP (D4MT Labs Inc. / La Vida Es Un Mus)
The last in an accidental trilogy of albums that began with examining the centuries of havoc wreaked by Western colonialism and ends with its gaze fixed on the future. It feels strange to enjoy a reminder of humankind’s horrific, violent tendencies—but mercifully, someone else sees it too and wonders if we can do better. The lyrics are perceptive and poetic without being heavy-handed, and when layered over the experimental CRASS-meets-THIS HEAT-meets TELEVISION music, I’m reminded of one of the great things about humankind: creativity. Read Sydney Salk’s interview with the duo in see-saw for insight. Over the course of three albums, STRAW MAN ARMY has made some of the most musically and thematically crucial music of our time. Essential.

V/A – Scaling Triangles LP reissue (Zaius)
A vital compilation for anyone interested in DIY punk made by femmes, this is a reissue of a 1981 Treble Chant release featuring PETTICOATS, SUB VERSE, and SOLE SISTER, three experimental punk/electronic bands. PETTICOATS’ “Paranoia” is a highlight: a song about what it’s like walking this earth as a woman. Despite similar instrumentation, each band has its own unique voice, and each track is worth savoring. I’m grateful these songs survived and that we have them again to savor.

Bonus:

DISINTEGRATION – “Hideaway” from Shiver in a Weak Light LP (Feel It)
My favorite song of the year. I listened to this song so much that I (regretfully) neglected the rest of the album. Haley’s voice is one of the most interesting and compelling in underground music right now—as gripping in the angular, gothy synth punk of DISINTEGRATION as in the bonkers no wave of DONKEY BUGS and the lush post-punk of PLEASURE LEFTISTS.

JOÃO SEIXAS

João Seixas is a D-beat and hardcore aficionado from Portugal. Drummer and singer in a thousand bands, and dystopian imagery creator at @violence.paranoia.

Part-time firestarter, rulebreaker, and iconoclast. Punk is always about protest! FREE PALESTINE!

PRISÃO – EP 2 EP (11 PM / Adult Crash)
“No prisoners taken” hardcore with a huge chip on its shoulder. Pronounced influence from Swedish hardcore, as its members are also part of notable Swedish groups such as VIDRO, AXE RASH, NITAD, and WARCHILD, but with the angry delivery of Portuguese one-liners that evoke the power of classic Brazilian hardcore bands like OLHO SECO and CÓLERA. A cohesive and polished visual identity that makes PRISÃO stand out from the rest.

KORIDOR – Kroz Pukotine LP (Doomtown)
Dark-as-night post-punk executed in a thrilling and unpredictable manner. A lot of twists and turns, and a lot of influences to carve out new paths within the songs. There is a lot of rhythm-based “tribal” post-punk à la KILLING JOKE, the gloomy futurism of Nowa Aleksandria-era SIKIERA, the weird chorus-drenched arrangements of PADKAROSDA, and the sense of dread of RUDIMENTARY PENI. Very well-rounded and modern-sounding. Dark punk at its best!

THE DARK – Sinking Into Madness LP (Toxic State)
Metalpunk that sounds unlike any other current band, yet all the references can be pinpointed easily, which means the DARK did a great job crafting their sound: MOTÖRHEAD plus metallic Japanese riff masters like G-ZET, GASTUNK, and even G.I.S.M. Galloping heavy metal riffage over very simple and steady drums makes for very catchy memorable tunes, complete with reverb-drenched vocals that sound urgent and eerie. It transports you to a B-movie set in a post-apocalyptic L.A.

SAVAGE PLEASURE – Savage Pleasure LP (Toxic State)
Metal-infused punks SAVAGE PLEASURE unleash another thrashing piece of post-apocalyptic gloom. Stench of crust via a black thrash-obsessed vision that makes for a very fresh take on the genre. Like AURA NOIR playing AMEBIX covers during a winter storm. Ugh!

BOOTLICKER – 1000 Yard Stare LP (Neon Taste / Static Shock)
BOOTLICKER continues to uphold their unique fusion of hardcore influenced by MISSBRUKARNA, seamlessly integrating DISCHARGE D-beats within a framework characteristic of USHC. The songwriting and overall allure of the tracks progressively improve with each new release, rendering this album a delight to experience. Prepare yourself for an intense D-beat journey, and be sure to raise the volume to its maximum!

LIFELESS DARK – Forces of Nature’s Transformation LP (Side Two)
The long-awaited return of the sacrilegious crustmongers from Boston. After the ripping Who Will Be the Victims? released six years ago, they managed to release a full-length that feels like the spiritual successor of Behind the Realms of Madness from SACRILEGE. Thrashy crust with the obligatory BOLT THROWER riffage and some HELLBASTARD gloomy moods thrown in there just for good measure. Released in December, so I bet it made many people rethink their “albums of the year” lists.

SIEGE FIRE – The Devastating Cost LP (Black Water)
A punishing onslaught of D-beats and noisy guitars that would make GLOOM proud.  A very dynamic range of rhythms and ideas make up for a very appealing record, since the style SIEGE FIRE plays is very limited in theory, but somehow they manage to keep new ideas rolling. The drumming is just relentless on this one, with every beat being delivered with sniper precision. A major addition to the contemporary bands doing Japanese-influenced crasher-styled hardcore perfectly, like PHYSIQUE and KINETIC ORBITAL STRIKE.

BAD BREEDING – Contempt LP (Iron Lung)
BAD BREEDING perfected the art of anarcho-punk 2.0. Each of their releases furthers the genre while keeping one foot steadily placed on the tropes of the originators, like CRASS, FLUX OF PINK INDIANS, or ZOUNDS. This album is a step to the noisier side of the spectrum (think SPK-type experimentation), which they already experimented with on previous records, but the songs’ sensibilities and emotions are still there. Artwork by legend Peter Kennard and essays in a twenty-page zine format neatly pack this record and show the level of care that this band has.

PHANTASM – Conflict Reality EP (Hardcore Victim)
Delivering the most aggressive, pissed-off hardcore on this list, PHANTASM was one of the best surprises coming from Australia. From the very relevant Hardcore Victim label, these seasoned musicians know what’s good! Politically-charged, powerful punk that owes both to DISORDER and CONFLICT, but has its own lane.

ALAMBRADA – Rios de Sangre LP (Autsajder Produckcija / Fuerza Ingobernable / Unlawful Assembly)
ALAMBRADA delivers fiery riffs, driving rhythms, and socially-charged lyrics that deeply resonate with Bogota’s pulse and broader struggles. With fast hardcore akin to VOID or KORO, each track blends urgency and storytelling, showcasing breakneck speed and power. The band fearlessly tackles political and social issues, capturing the frustrations and aspirations of a generation hungry for change.

KAI BOSWORTH

Kai Bosworth lives in Richmond, VA and infrequently posts mixes and musings at Stochastic Slide.

I wrote too much to give an intro this year—take a listen!

THE SUBMISSIVES – Live at Value Sound Studios LP (Celluloid Lunch)
The ethos of pop music accentuates polished production and melodic harmony, ironing out any rough edges or dissonance in the name of order. If punk has any reason for a continued existence in 2024, it’s as a direct affront to pop music’s aesthetic and economic proclivity towards fascism. Thus, the SHAGGS are a punk touchstone, with their music an affront both to a domineering father and to pop music as such. Though their guitars are tuned and the music meticulously planned, the SUBMISSIVES have written and recorded a record that weaponizes the dissonant possibilities of guitar-based music. If Live at Value Sound Studios was truly recorded in 2017, the stamina it took to sit on this record for seven years is astonishing.

SOUP ACTIVISTS – Mummy What Are Flowers For? LP (Inscrutable)
Any of the six records released on Inscrutable this year could have made this list, a true testament to Martin Meyer’s ear (and perhaps social skills). Following a series of charming lo-fi cassette releases, Mummy What Are Flowers For? gets my writeup, as Meyer’s more-polished kiwi-pop effort really fires on all cylinders. There’s something about this record that feels like putting a puzzle together of 1980s messthetic, Antipodean, and regional Americana jangle—yet ending up with an extra piece.

STRAW MAN ARMY – Earthworks LP (D4MT Labs, Inc. / La Vida Es Un Mus)
The singular sound of STRAW MAN ARMY now exceeds any need for comparison to past bands and genres; Earthworks is best juxtaposed to their prior records. While it retains more introspective and melodic tendencies of SOS, Earthworks exchanges the more ghostly surrealism of that record for an almost anthemic incitement. “Extinction Burst,” one of the best songs on any of their three records, opens with a statement that serves as the band’s reason for being: “In the dark times / Will there be singing? / There will be singing / About the dark times.” A unique and necessary contribution to today’s sonic and political landscape.

NORMS – 100% Hazaárulás LP (11 PM / Total Peace)
Apocalyptic hardcore with a wry element accentuated by the occasional percussive cowbell. 100% Hazaárulás recalls both the avant-nihilism and sharp-cornered time changes of BARCELONA, fellow travelers in tradition tied to INDIGESTI in spirit and execution.

ARTIFICIAL GO – Hopscotch Fever LP (Feel It)
The early 2010s experienced a loose trend combining stripped-down pop of the NEO BOYS and the spindly post-punk of AU PAIRS—consider GRASS WIDOW and HOUSEHOLD, for instance. Hopscotch Fever chooses to pick up where those groups left off in an intimate and refreshing manner.

THE SHEAVES – A Salve for Institution LP (Dot Dash Sounds / SDZ)
Avoiding pure pastiche is sometimes difficult in punk—what chord progression hasn’t been mined at this point? Yet the SHEAVES have somehow successfully broken down and reassembled SWELL MAPS as if no one had tried before. It’s all there–the droll vocals, desolate desert guitar, weird looping, and off-kilter experimentation…yet in these hands, somehow feels crisp and fresh.

ALVILDA – C’est D​é​jà L’heure LP (Static Shock)
Though the world is not lacking for power pop, ALVILDA carves through the deceptively simple genre. C’est D​é​jà L’heure baits the listener with a catchy melody all while devilishly rewarding repeat listens. One of the more addictive efforts this side of CHIN-CHIN, with a large slice of Euro pop infectiousness à la PEKINŠKA PATKA or YPÖ-VIIS.

GUIDING LIGHT – Guiding Light cassette (Down South)
Really promising five-song first release that splits the difference between German-language femme punk and the sun-worn GUN CLUB/MEAT PUPPETS tradition.

ITCHY AND THE NITS – The Worst Of LP (Total Punk)
Last year’s Maximum Rocknroll YETT exposed me to their very catchy demo; The Worst Of compiles those six songs with an additional six to almost best early-era DONNAS in warping RAMONES-core. It is a bit concerning that the songwriters have enough personal experience to pen no fewer than three songs about bloodsucking critters.

PUPPET WIPES – Live at Pompeii II 8” (NO Label NZ)
PUPPET WIPES presumably take their name from the TIN HUEY single, and the dregs of Ohio-related punk experimentalism and horrendous new wave feel like an appropriate touchstone for this release (despite coming out of Calgary). A mutant descendent from the excellent JANITOR SCUM, on this short release the duo of Arielle McCuaig and Kayla MacNeill are more avowedly punk than their experimental Siltbreeze LP; consider pressing this in a more widely-available format!

Ten more choice cuts:

V/A – No Occupation: Another Benefit for Mutual Aid in Gaza cassette (self-released / Symphony of Destruction)

ADDED DIMENSIONS – Time Suck / Hellbent EP (Domestic Departure)

TEINI-PÄÄ – Mietin Minne Meet EP (Vague Absolutes)

THINE RETAIL SIMPS – Strike Gold, Strike Back, Strike Out LP (Total Punk)

CARTOON – Nyuck Nyuck Boing LP (Human Headstone)

NEUTRALS – New Town Dream LP (Slumberland / Static Shock)

REARRANGED FACE – Far Green Arcade LP (Tomothy)

PICTURE THAT – Strum 12” (Inscrutable)

THE UMBRELLAS – Fairweather Friend LP (Slumberland)

WORKERS COMP – Workers Comp LP (ever/never)

LUCY ISODORA

Lucy Isadora makes zines, music, and rock shows in Jackson, Mississippi. She sings in the band BIG CLOWN and plays guitar in the band HAMMER AND THE TOOLS.

In 2024 I picked up a guitar, participated in the release of three(!) tapes with my various projects, and booked more shows than I needed to. Another election cycle rendered everyone I know temporarily insane, war waged on in Gaza and Pakistan and Ukraine and the Philippines and the Congo and and and…

BANDS I SAW:

BLUFF CITY VICE – S2PID cassette (Machine Duplication Recordings)
BLUFF CITY VICE are longtime friends of mine and some of my favorite people to play music with. Their stripped-down setup (one guitar, one computer with drum track, one mic) makes for a deliciously deviant live show. S2PID is like listening to the dumbest possible punk on a portable radio, but PROJECT PAT and wrestling matches keep coming through the signal.

STILL ANIMALS – Still Animals LP (Slovenly)
Garage rock still rules. Rockin’ guitars, thumping steady drums, and lyrics about dive bars are the way. One of my favorite show experiences I have had in the past few years was watching STILL ANIMALS’ singer Lee do an entire song from the outside of CBGB’s in St. Louis, while the band played inside. Rock-solid rock music.

SOUP ACTIVISTS – Mummy What Are Flowers For? LP (Inscrutable)
Lumpy who? Huff my what? Power pop is the new old frontier, and Martin Meyer does it right. Think jangling guitars, boogie-down organs, and fae vocals. Lira Mondal makes a delightful vocal cameo. Makes me want to hold hands with my crush and shake my butt in a springtime meadow.

BABY TYLER BAND – Baby Tyler Band LP (Night Bell)
BABY TYLER BAND makes fast-paced boogie-down punk rock to scoot around the dancefloor to. Frontman Tyler Fassnacht (formerly of PROUD PARENTS) is one of my favorite performers in punk rock, because he has this amazing way of screaming and dancing and sweating and picking up a mic by its stand all at the same time.

STEEF – Hngryhrnybrkn cassette (self-released)
STEEF (formerly of SPLLIT) is the type of freak who will discuss PAUL MCCARTNEY’s late-career solo work at length and with great enthusiasm. Call it zolo, call it no wave, call it egg-punk if you must, but don’t call him to write a song in a normal time signature, because he just won’t do it!

SUBTROPOLIS – True Crime on Acid Bridge LP (self-released)
My first SUBTROPOLIS experience was a goosebump-inducing sacred moment at the PRFBBQ fest in Louisville. The duo creates dramatic, mind-bending prog songs with urgently thumping drums, a suitcase’s worth of guitar pedals, and shockingly angelic vocals. Incredible experimental rock music, best enjoyed while crying sometime in the dystopian future.

BAD ANXIETY – No Shit EP (Feral Kid / Refuse)
If you know punk in the Deep South, you know Hampton Martin (also of JUDY AND THE JERKS). He plays fast, he wears soccer shorts, and he has the highest vertical of any active punk artist. BAD ANXIETY makes white-hot rippers every time, and this ten-minute-long EP is no different.

D. SABLU – No True Silence LP (Yes We Cannibal)
David Sabludowsky (also of CASUAL BURN) happens to have one of my favorite bands going right now—D. SABLU runs the subgenre gamut, but everything they do whips ass. No True Silence features the thrum of an excellent rhythm section, with Shana Applewhite (KEEN DREAMS) on bass and Evan Cvitanovic (DELORES GALORE) on drums. Great music for slamming and jamming.

BANDS I DIDN’T SEE:

CRUELSTER – Lost Inside My Mind in Another State of Mind LP (Drunken Sailor)
To me, CRUELSTER is the band, and everything Nathan Ward (PERVERTS AGAIN, KNOWSO) touches is gold. CRUELSTER still somehow fills me with the same excitement I felt when I was first getting into punk. Lost Inside My Mind in Another Stte of Mind features such treasured bangers as “Crisis in Local Government (Part II),” “Dumb Fuck,” “Belarus With My Baby,” and a delightful cover of ICONA POP and CHARLI XCX’s “I Love It”, which brought genuine tears to my real eyeballs upon first listen.

AUTOBAHNS – First LP! LP (Feral Kid / Legless / MAGÜT / Phantom)
We don’t need any more egg-punk. The frying pan is full. AUTOBAHNS have perfected the genre. AUTOBAHNS is like skate punk meets synth punk meets lo-fi recording, all in a synthalicious omelette.

POP HYSTERIA – Papa Stereo cassette (Pop Affliction)
Papa Stereo is one of those rare albums that I just caught at the right moment—hadn’t heard of anyone involved, saw it randomly on the Tremendo Garaje YouTube channel (shout-out Jose!), absolutely loved it, and had the tape in my mailbox the next week. POP HYSTERIA makes funky danceable no wave, music that could be kin to SUBURBAN LAWNS, music my bandmates would call “some real Lucy shit.”

BILLIAM – Animation Cel LP (Erste Theke Tontrager / Legless)
It’s been a delight to see BILLIAM’s evolution from teenager making slamming lofi punk to slightly older teenager making well-produced “autismcore” (his words, not mine) albums. Animation Cel is like if ERIK NERVOUS joined AUSMUTEANTS and they all had a baby that was raised in a locked room with just a Sega Genesis and a copy of Sonic 3D Blast.

TOTAL SHAM – Total Sham LP (Under the Gun)
Hardcore is a terrible genre right now, crawling with ladder-climbers and TikTok influencers and cornballs and the extremely boring bands they join. TOTAL SHAM reminded me that actually, I like hardcore when it’s done well. This excellent lofi ’80s-style Midwest hardcore is classic in the best way.

LUKE HENLEY

Luke is a writer and musician based in New Mexico. They keep busy with the horror-themed surf/garage band the OUIJA CHORDS, as well as a new recording project debuting next year called the PANCAKE HAUS.

These were this year’s most noteworthy records I heard from many of the most consistent and exciting labels out there.

TWISTED TEENS – Twisted Teens cassette (self-released)
I somehow knew for months I needed to listen to this full-length, and it wasn’t until near the end of the year I finally did. It remained in play for weeks, engaging me with incredible hooks and some of my favorite vocal performances of the year.

PEELINGFLESH – The G Code LP (Unique Leader)
One of the biggest surprise discoveries for me, and likely the most fun. The mix of slam, hardcore, and rap truly works.

WHY BOTHER? – Serenading Unwanted Ballads LP (Feel It)
Of the two records put out this year by these Iowan esoteric dystopian punks, this one might be the slightly less straightforward one. I love it for all its genre-hopping and bummer vibes.

THINE RETAIL SIMPS – Strike Gold Strike Back Strike Out LP (Total Punk)
Jamming can often backfire, but here it truly showcases this band’s talent for seemingly effortless, shaggy tunes that are brimming with ideas. The trick is to edit, which this band does beautifully.

STRAW MAN ARMY – Earthworks LP (DM4T Labs / La Vida Es Un Mus)
The group’s most beautiful work to date. A true heartbreak of a record that mirrors my melancholy and stokes my hope for a better future.

MEAN JEANS – Blasted LP (Fat Wreck)
I’m more than a decade late to the MEAN JEANS party, but it’s still raging on. This is one of their more concise records, featuring focused tuneful bangers front to back.

URANIUM CLUB – Infants Under the Bulb LP (Anti Fade / Static Shock)
Any year with a URANIUM CLUB release can’t be all bad, and this is another surefire winner. As brainy, bratty, and weird as ever crackling with energy.

DEAD FINKS – Eve of Ascension LP (Urge)
Eclectic, moody and packed with attitude. I continue to adore this band, and they keep getting better with each release.

PEACE DE RESISTANCE – Lullaby for the Debris LP (La Vida Es Un Mus / Peace de)
I didn’t quite get this one on a first listen, but I kept coming back to it. It grew into one of my most cherished listens of the year. It smartly borrows from heavy hitters, the most obvious being IGGY POP and BRIAN ENO’s guitar pop era, but brings its own worldview to the table. Singularly its own thing, and fiercely cool.

LIQUID MIKE – Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot LP (Temporal)
There is so much power pop, and so little power pop that’s really good. When it’s done right, though, it’s magic. Few recent records exemplify that truth as clearly as this.

MAMA GOBLIN

Mama Goblin lives in Istanbul, records silly music under the name GOBLIN DAYCARE, and constantly makes things harder by insisting on DIY-ing everything himself. That’s about it, really. FREE PALESTİNE!

What a year, huh? Definitely a good one for punk and a terrible one to have any kind of faith in where the world is headed. Anyways, here are ten albums that made 2024 a bit more bearable for me, in no particular order:

DIODE – 2 LP (Under The Gun)
I’m not ashamed to admit that the first time I heard L.A. synth punks DIODE’s self-titled release, I nearly cried tears of joy. It was pure perfection front to back. I don’t know if there are any rules around this, but they should really make it illegal to pull off something like that twice, because with 2, they managed to improve on something that was already perfect. I won’t even go into detail. For the love of pulse width modulation, please give it a listen.

KAPOW! – Peter Goes KAPOW! EP (New Martian)
I struggle to find anything that scratches the same itch as this debut EP from Brooklyn’s KAPOW! This thing definitely has its own universe. The sound is a cross between the music of old arcade games and Saturday morning cartoons, but made in a wholesomely liminal, eggy post-post-post-punk way. The way it’s produced isn’t just a way to put different instruments together, it is an instrument. It’s stripped-down, rubbery, and relatively lo-fi, but very stylistic at all times.

BUSTED HEAD RACKET – Go! Go! Go! LP (Erste Theke Tonträger)
Newcastle trio BUSTED HEAD RACKET never fails to deliver something that puts a big ol’ smile on my face and makes me wanna move like those inflatable tube men. 2024’s Go! Go! Go! made me do all that and much more than I’d like to admit. Let’s just say that I’ve never gotten this close to doing the worm.

PLEXI STAD – Siren Dance EP (Mangel)
In their new EP, Antwerp four-piece PLEXI STAD keeps everything minimal and raw while never compromising catchiness and danceability. Funky guitars, groovy bass lines, punchy drums, and energetic vocals fit perfectly like puzzle pieces. Minimal yet tasteful production of the EP glues everything together. All in all, I think Siren Dance is what IDLES wish they sounded like when they covered GANG OF FOUR’s “Damaged Goods.”

CITRIC DUMMIES – Trapped in a Parking Garage EP (Feel It / Saalepower 2)
This 7″ is chock full of catchy tunes. By chock full of, I mean four. But they’re just the kind that you’d wanna shout along to as you’re air-drumming and imitating the riffs with your mouth. So yeah, it’s definitely an earful. It’s lightning-fast, it’s hella fun, and the production perfectly captures how ridiculously loud they’d be live. It’s the perfect record to listen to when picking fights with thirteen-year-olds at the state fair.

THE GOBS – The Gobs LP (self-released)
It was truly the year of the GOBS. They had three great releases this year, but their self-titled stuck with me the most, so here we are. Anyways, it seems like they’ve perfected the infamous GOBS formula that I like to call “rock’n’roll soup”: You take all the ingredients for a great rock’n’roll track, mix it in a blender until it’s smooth and homogenous, and then add some sprinkles to taste. Because why not?

COOL SORCERY – TERRA INVADERS cassette (Godless America / Grog / Idiotape / Syf)
If you’ve been following the work of Brazilian bedroom punk hero Marcos Assis, you know that he is a boundless creative and a total sweetheart. Terra Invaders is another album that proves that. With inspirations ranging from spaghetti western to R&B and guest artists like TOMBEAU, BILLIAM, and BALACLAVA (and, full disclosure, yours truly, but only because I already loved the project so much!) on almost every track, there’s something for everyone. So even your mom and her Pekingese can bump at least one track from this album all day, every day.

EXTORTION – Threats EP (Iron Lung)
Australian powerviolence legends EXTORTION have blessed us with another release this year, and this one pulls no punches. Just full-throttle fastcore. Actually, calling it fastcore wouldn’t do it justice. It should also be called tight-core, considering how unbelievably well-performed it is. As you finish the first song, which is just sixteen seconds long, you think to yourself “Whew, that was crazy. Surely it will slow down at some point!” Then guess what? You get sucker-punched into oblivion over and over by fifteen songs in a grand total of eight minutes. Just beautiful.

KIDNAPPED – Disgust LP (Daze / Redscroll)
Connecticut powerviolence band KIDNAPPED chews through this album like a lawnmower. The second you hit play, everything starts coming at you like a hail of bullets. Then it slows down for a while, making you believe in the foolish idea that you’ll be able to catch your breath. But nope, it’s back the moment you blink. And this doesn’t happen in the span of the album, each song here is a rollercoaster. There are no fillers, not even filler moments. It’s truly a riveting masterpiece and deserves its place in the powerviolence hall of fame.

CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP / DOOM BEACH – split LP (Redscroll)
This split was my first proper introduction to both bands, and wow, I can’t imagine anything better to start with. While DOOM BEACH’s side has a relatively slow pace, it’s absolutely crushing. It’s dark, claustrophobic, and the noisy elements are fine-tuned to dominate every frequency range. Though it has a primitive feel to it, there are some moments of subtle interplay that prove how intentional and well-put-together everything is. But when CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP’s side starts, the tone shifts into something more chaotic. Breakneck drums, growling bass, ear-scratching noise, and beautifully disgusting vocals make up most of the sound palette. It’s more than a split by two great acts, it’s an experience. It’s definitely the album that inspired me the most this year, and no, I won’t apologize for nerding out about it.

MATT CASTEEL

Matt Casteel, AKA Mattistocracy, AKA Leo Delightful is a photographer, writer, and DJ based in Roanoke, VA. He’s co-owner of Culture Desert Records and does reviews for MRR. His current bands are EX PARENTS and SULTRY.

Somehow 2024 clocks in as markedly worse than the year preceding. What can be done to prevent humanity from sinking deeper into the mire of pestilence, war, and famine? Has our collective fate been irrevocably sealed? Fuck if I know. At least we’ve got punk! Here are the ten releases that kept me from diving headlong into an inky pit of total despair, in alphabetical order.  

BATO – Human Cancer LP (Not For The Weak)
I can always count on Not For The Weak to deliver uncompromising hardcore, and their releases just keep ending up on my year-end lists. I guess it’s no surprise that their house band would crank out one of the most crushing albums of the year. For lovers of messy sandwiches and classic-era USHC.

BLAZING EYE at Prevention Point, Skull Fest 14, August 17th
Pittsburgh’s long-running fest was absolutely stacked this year and I was stoked to see more bands than I could reasonably list here. While I was definitely excited to catch BLAZING EYE, their last record came out way back in 2016 and I forgot about how I’d irritate my old roommate by blasting “Lonely Corpse” on repeat. Packed into a sweaty warehouse on a sweltering Saturday afternoon, it came crashing back to why I’d been so obsessed. Everyone lost their minds, especially the maniacal traffic-cone-adorned freak that attacked the crowd with a snow shovel. Does it get more punk?        

BLOODSTAINS – Bloodstains 12” (Drunken Sailor)
Easily the most melodic album on my list, BLOODSTAINS sound like they could’ve washed up on Beach Blvd in 1979 rather than 2024. Originally self-released, the initial pressing made quite the splash and sold out in a blink. I spent months pining for a copy before Drunken Sailor did us all a favor and made it more widely available. The guys have the Orange County sound perfectly dialed in. Take one guess as to where they’re from.

FAUCHEUSE – R​ê​ve Électrique LP (Symphony of Destruction)
Furious käng-inspired punk with soaring vocals, blazing fast riffs, and an organ? On paper, FAUCHEUSE sounds like a cacophonous train wreck. And yet, R​ê​ve Électrique is one of the most thoughtfully constructed, coherent albums I’ve heard in years. It is an eclectic record to be sure, but every listen makes me love these more and more. Easily the most unique band to crack into my top ten.

HOMEMADE SPEED – Faster is Better EP (Not For The Weak)
Just as raw and unhinged as their name implies, HOMEMADE SPEED make a convincing eight-song argument that faster truly is better. Perhaps there’s something in the brackish seawater of the mid-Atlantic region, or the influence of good ol’ bathtub drugs, but these Virginian weirdos are doing hardcore the way it should be done.

INVERTEBRATES – Sick to Survive LP (Beach Impediment)
When INVERTEBRATES dropped their devastating demo a couple years ago it went directly into my tape deck and didn’t leave for weeks and was a no-brainer top ten pick for 2022. Sick to Survive builds on their previous output, leveling up each and every aspect. No shortage of hooks, you get ten songs that go for the jugular and leave you bleeding out on the floor before you realize the needle has hit dead wax.

MURO – Nuevo Dogma LP (Fuerza Ingobernable)
MURO’s third album has solidified their status as one of the most esteemed hardcore punk outfits on the planet. They just keep getting better with each release, weaving in more elements of their influences, while retaining a core sound that is distinctly savage. Last I checked, these songs were not available online, but once you hear the record and dig into the accompanying printed materials, it makes sense. This is punk with a firm foot in the analog world.  

POLLUTE – EP. cassette (self-released)
Hailing from Durham, North Carolina, POLLUTE soiled my feeble brain with their toxic brand of D-beat. In fact, this demo made such an impact that I jumped at the chance to help facilitate their recent full-length cassette on Culture Desert Records. A hard-working band with pulverizing tunes, ready to blast your undeserving eardrums right outta yer skulls.

SAVAGE PLEASURE – Savage Pleasure LP (Toxic State)
Another band that blew my brains apart when I caught them at Skull Fest. This is an album that will transport you to another plane where the axeman is imminent and serpent men are ascendant. A visceral, unsettling experience that is indeed a distinctly savage pleasure.

THE BROOD – For the Dark LP (Armageddon)
Closing out the year with a bang, Philadelphia’s the BROOD released their long-awaited debut album. I’ve listened to For the Dark every single day since its release in early December. Featuring ex-members of your favorite Pennsylvania-based bands, the BROOD has a layered sound that incorporates elements of Scandinavian hardcore, D-beat, and UK82 while bringing something entirely fresh and new to the table. There’s a chemistry at play that has an emulsifying effect, something that only happens when a band’s members have been playing together for so long that they can articulate concepts through music that most folks cannot locate words for. This is an album I expect to revisit for years to come, an instant favorite.

NEVADA NIEVES

Nevada Nieves is a Midwest-based multi-instrumentalist and road dog. They currently play Omnichord in JENERATOR JENKINS and guitar in ABI OOZE. Catch them at the merch table on tour with DC’s own BLACK EYES, or St. Louis synth wizard the MALL.

This year, as we slid further than previously conceivable into a painful world consumed by evil and fascism, I continually have looked to the small joys to remain afloat. Besides attentat-as-participatory-democracy making a comeback, here’s a few others near and dear to me. 

MELT BANANA – 3+5 LP (A-Zap)
Tokyo’s flagship noise-punkers are back! A duo for eight years now, they’ve only perfected their blend of hardcore, glitch, hyperpop, metal, and noise. Opener “Code” evokes the start of an NES game, preluding the anxiety-inducing and cathartic moments imminent. As melodic bitcrushed miasmatic swirl against chunky rhythms, Yasuko’s yelping vocals and Agata’s glitched-out guitar lead the charge. I hope they never stop!

SMILING STRANGERS – Smiling Strangers cassette (self-released)
Jangle-pop from St. Louis, reminiscent of BIG STAR or the PRETENDERS, from folks who brought you NEWT PATROL and LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS. Six memorable songs primed to take you on a journey of human emotion. Standout tracks “The Seer” and “The Moon” showcase not only the melodic instruments, but how integral the drums and bass are to making a tune catchy.

CLICKBAIT – At Your Leisure LP (self-released)
Years ago, a certain comedy sketch ruined a certain percussion instrument for a generation. CLICKBAIT is here to bring unironic joy back to the cowbell in the new year. Superbly dancy post-punk with snaky guitar lines and ass-shaking beats, recorded by Caufield of SWEEPING PROMISES to boot. Bonus: the rhythm section are the co-proprietors of Chicago’s tchotchke/record store Bric-a-Brac and adjoining cafe The Brewd.

NOWHERE – New Pain LP (The Ghost Is Clear)
Omaha’s NOWHERE play self-described “post-hardcore songs with powerviolence energy.” They’re intense, brutal and punishingly precise, on the verge of boiling over into chaos and pyrrhic abandon. Members of RETOX and NO THANKS.

THE INTIMA – Peril & Panic LP reissue (Post Present Medium)
Originally released in 2003 by East Bay celebrity George Chen on his famous Zum label. Similar to the Scrabbling at the Lock collaboration between cellist TOM CORA and the EX, and prefiguring Portland violin-punks NEW BLOODS, the sonic texture created between rock instruments and Nora Danielson’s violin is angular, uncomfortable, urgent, sharp, and deliberate. The moodiness builds, blooms, and finally bursts into frantic and fractured passions, graced sparsely by Andrew’s calls and yelps. A post-Twin Peaks poetic punk group from the Pacific Northwest, and they sound like it!

BOOTCAMP – Controlled Burn EP (Pokeys)
Ass-beating USHC from the sweetest people in the world. In my teens, neighboring hardcore scenes would roast my city on message boards for “looking like (we) were on the playground in the pit.” I can tell you from punk adulthood, possessing a spirit of joy is actually good, and that joy is palpable in the Iowa City punk community. Songs to inspire skate park circlepits and telling cops to fuck off!

PSYCHIC GRAVEYARD – Wilting LP (Artoffact)
Hypnotic hard-hitting synth punk from members of ARAB ON RADAR and HOT NERDS. While solid, distorted bass lines pummel with motorik drums, Eric’s voice wrestles with squelching synth and guitar noise, a ghost chained up in a haunted house. Bonus points for track “Your Sword in My Throat” recalling SCIENTIST’s “Your Teeth in My Neck”.

HUGGY BEAR – Killed (of Kids) book (Jabs / The Grass is Green in the Fields for You)
HUGGY BEAR was a Brighton, UK -based queercore/riot grrrl/post-something noisy band active 1991–1994, touring with BIKINI KILL and NATION OF ULYSSES, releasing records with Gravity and Kill Rock Stars, and was a boy-girl revolutionary riot at every show. When I saw their raucous performance on British TV’s The Word (a stage I recognized from many middle school viewings of the SMASHING PUMPKINS’ Vieuphoria VHS), I was dumbstruck, hypnotized by the raw passion of the queer explosion before my eyes. This book compiled by the band contains seven zines self-produced during their tenure, alongside flyers, letters, photos, and other ephemera.

BLACK EYES – 2024 new songs
HarDCore’s influence on what we do simply cannot be overstated. Hearing BLACK EYES as an idiot teen growing up in Alabama in the early ’00s, it simply blew my brain open. At the moment, I was learning what punk was, experiencing the dub-fried, free-jazz-charged, spiritually heavy freakout of these inheritors of the Dischord mantle showed me what punk could be in the future. Bands reuniting can always be a crapshoot, yet this group feels as urgent and energized as ever, physically, sonically, and lyrically. They talked about queerness, sex, fascism, politics, and sexual violence in the early ’00s. It still feels as fresh and dangerous and urgent as it did back then. A reunited band can court feelings of nostalgia, of false memories that suggest “oh, it was better back then.” Seeing BLACK EYES play in 2024, i couldn’t help feeling that it is more an affirmation of what was important to us as a sub- or counterculture then is as important and pressing to us now. BLACK EYES is back with six new songs, and we all better get ready.

KEN VANDERMARK + PNL tour
Got a random call this summer from a friend asking if I could drive a tour for saxophonist KEN VANDERMARK, contributor to Dutch sonic-punks the EX and co-founder of Chicago’s the FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. I didn’t know what to expect but after a few punk emergencies we were on the road!  It was a pure gift seeing these masters at work every single night, no days off, spontaneously composing hardassed improvised bangers for two weeks straight. Do yourself a favor and put your ears on this!

HONORABLE MENTIONS
2024 Solar Eclipse in Totality
Friendship + Love
DESTINY BOND live every day for six weeks straight
OYSTER WORLD live in Minneapolis
Visiting ALBERT AYLER’s grave at 7 am in Cleveland

RACHEL

Rachel is in the DISSIDENTS and does the radio show Uneasy Listening. She also helps out with MRR a bit. She lives in Philly.

Doing a radio show means constantly needing to keep up on new music, so my problem is not so much finding great new things to listen to as it is spending enough time with any particular band or record in the neverending flood of awesome music that is constantly coming out. Not the worst problem to have! But it can be overwhelming. These are the releases that stuck with me this year, in alphabetical order! Fuck ranking!

I didn’t see a ton of shows this year, but TAQBIR in Philly and NYC was transcendent. I also toured the UK with the PIST, and SEX GERMS and the MASOCHISTS were standouts. I also happened upon a video of the MOOR’s first show in a few years and maybe found my new favorite band?

LIST:

ALIEN NOSEJOB – Cold Bare Facts EP (Anti Fade)
Jake Robertson has a lot of modes (Hardcore! Garage rock! New wave! Hard rock! Synth punk! etc.!) and he’s shockingly good at all of them. ALIEN NOSEJOB also put out an excellent album just this year, and his other band SWAB has an LP due out soon, but this kind of straightforward classic Aussie punk might be my favorite. And the songs are both about police brutality, sick!

BLESSURE – La Manière EP (Discos Enfermos)
The melodic Oi! thing is starting to really wear on me, but BLESSURE, a Francophone band from Basque Country, really stands out dans la foule. I’m not sure if their singer is just French or what, but the influence of early French punk is all over this and it’s fun as hell.

CAVE SEX – Cave Sex 12” (Symphony of Destruction)
Heavy, heavy KILLING JOKE influence on this perfectly-executed record from members of SIAL and PROSPEXX. I feel like every band I hear out of Singapore lately is doing whatever style they’re going for just flawlessly.

GRAZIA – In Poor Taste EP (Feel It)
Singer sounds American, band name is Italian, music reminds me of some of the best poppy, garage-y, post-punky stuff coming out of Australia right now, label is from Cincinnati…but they’re from London, go figure. Love some peppy tunes with subtly downer lyrics.

INDUSTRY – A Self Portrait at the Stage of Totalitarian Domination of All Aspects of Human Life LP (Static Age)
There are enough bands doing the EXIT STANCE dark, aggressive peace punk thing lately that we should start calling it E-beat. I dig bands like SUBDUED too, but this record stands above for me with its straightforward political messages and excellent songwriting.

KORIDOR – Kroz Pukotine LP (Doomtown)
Dark ex-Yugo punk is Doomtown Records’ specialty, and KORIDOR’s first LP has a perfect balance of tunefulness, spookiness, and a bit of aggression. This might be controversial, but the production actually reminds me a bit of one of my favorite records ever, the EXPLOITED’s Horror Epics. Echoey and metallic. I’m so bummed I slept on this band’s US tour, come back!!!

NEUTRALS – New Town Dream LP (Slumberland / Static Shock)
I have a feeling this one will be making a lot of top tens this year. NEUTRALS bring us a whole concept album tying in characters from previous records. These folks know how to do hooks in a WRECKLESS ERIC kinda punk singer-songwriter/jangle pop way.

RADICAL KITTEN – Uppercat LP (Araki / Attila Tralala / Cartelle / Contraszt! / Domination Queer / Dushtu / Gurdulu / Hidden Bay / La Loutre par les Cornes / Tomaturj / Stonehenge / Uppercat)
Beautifully sincere second LP from this French band that makes me nostalgic for being a riot grrrl in the ’90s (their influence is the more herky-jerky  UK DIY and indie side of that scene), while still sounding fresh and exciting. It’s an excellent combo of extremely angry but also joyful and fun.

ROTARY CLUB – Sphere of Service LP (Iron Lung)
I am just charmed by this LP, top to bottom, following up their first single which was also really good. Great catchy songs, snotty attitude, punk rock, and all the lyrics are metaphors about telecommunications? Sold.

V/A – Liberation for All: A Palestine Benefit Comp cassette (Open Palm)
One bright spot in this utterly shitty year was the huge number of benefit comps, shows, and other support from punks and other musicians for people facing unimaginable horror and danger unleashed on Gaza by Israel with the backing of many of our governments. There are many great ones, but I was a little surprised to find this more aggro hardcore punk-leaning one is my favorite.
 

HONORABLE MENTION / REISSUES:

SÍNTESIS – Vacaciones en Tel Aviv digital single (La Vida Es Un Mus)
Among the first protest songs I heard against the most recent phase of the genocide in Gaza, this  is a disarmingly catchy, utterly cutting rebuke of apathetic Europeans who think it’s fun to vacation next to a concentration camp.  From members of FUERA DE SEKTOR and ALGARA.

ACCIDENTE / NIGHTWATCHERS – split LP (Stonehenge)
I was very psyched when a split LP between two of my favorite bands suddenly appeared! Especially ACCIDENTE who I didn’t even realize were still active!

ADDED DIMENSIONS – Time Suck / Hellbent EP (Domestic Departure)
Great primitive bedroom pop from Sarah Everton of BLOWDRYER and TELEPATHIC, probably my favorite thing she’s done.

PARATONNERE – Paratonnere demo cassette (Dirty Slap)
Just barely edged out of the main list. Excellent scrappy French punk.

V/A – Scaling Triangles LP reissue (Zaius)
TWELVE CUBIC FEET – Straight Out the Fridge LP (Sealed)
Two killer obscure early ’80s post-punk records I never thought I’d see reissued! In the same year! Bless!

RUDIMENTARY PENI – Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric LP reissue (Sealed)
It’s nice to see one of the more demented RUDIMENTARY PENI records back in print on vinyl!

TEODORO HERNÁNDEZ

Teodoro Hernández hace el programa de radio Hardcore Radikal y el fanzine Eskupe al Alkalde.

NARKAN – Sovegliare & Punire EP (Agipunk)
Hablando con DOMINACIÓN tras su gira, me informaron de que la banda más impactante en su periplo europeo fue una tal NARKAN. Escuché en internet estas canciones de hardcore sobrecogedor de abril de 2024. Pareciera que tras la muerte de Alfredo M. Bonanno, una de las afiladas espinas que ha crecido de su abono fuera NARKAN. Anarquía y destrucción.

BALTA – Mindenki Mindig Minden Ellen EP (La Vida Es Un Mus)
Qué ruido más asqueroso y adherente. Defeco en la música. Debemos inutilizar todas las armas. Y fracturar cada nación para poder colarnos en un mundo verdadero sin retículas castradoras. Sonido que nutre al hambriento y mortifica al opulento.

ALAMBRADA – Rios de Sangre 12” (Fuerza Ingobernable / Unlawful Assembly)
Un tumulto de ratas con palos que corren con la intención de aporrear al futuro, si fuera necesario. Hardcore desde el mundo en guerra, desde un estado que droga y dispara a su población sin remordimiento. Descontrol es lo que suena, incertidumbre y miedo es lo que sentimos.

ACTIVE MINDS – Tape Collection cassette (Cebollas / Crust As Fuck / Romantic Songs)
Una cinta que se pone en circulación en España para oír a las últimas 28 canciones de recopilatorios y discos compartidos de la banda de los hermanos Dixon. Cada vez que los escucho, me emociono. Combaten al capital con el ejemplo, y son capaces de componer gran canciones de Dis-core, como “A Visión of Future,” junto a otra que contiene una de las más bonitas melodías del año, ”Voice Your Opinion”. Espero que muchas décadas de Active Minds estén por venir todavía.

PUÑALHADA – Siempre Marica, Nunca Cobarde EP (Auto Producción)
El mejor pogo de la lista está pisoteando al patriarcado. Una declaración de principios que es testimonio vivo de las agredidas. Una denuncia más contra toda violación, y como todas las demás: vital. La forma de cantar y tocar estos temas es un conjuro peligroso para el propio movimiento. La letra de “Vizú + Reparación,” por ejemplo, se rebela contra la violencia machista dentro del punk y la falta de atención con la que desde el colectivo afrontamos estas violencias: Denunciar es no callar es frenar las manos del ahogo de tu corporalidad / Detrás de cada tacha una funa olvidada / Todxs podemos agredir pero no todxs queremos transformar la pasividad en tierra fértil para construir, denuncian. La violencia patriarcal tiene como primer objetivo la persona a la que va a agredir. Inmediatamente después, si no la consideramos, destruirá relaciones en espacios colectivos, bandas, amistades, al punk mismo.

VENGANZA – Damnatio Memoriae LP (Zaragoza Desorden)
Música vulgar, sin refinamiento alguno, de mal gusto. VENGANZA, son los nacos de la lista. Mezclar punk ibérico con notas de Burning Spirits es muy mala idea, pero a estos inciviles les funciona perfectamente. Sonaban en mis auriculares con sus letras corrosivas y justicieras mientras ayudaba a una señora a subir su carro de la compra por unas escaleras, fue un momento verdaderamente épico para mí.

ANTI – Anti digital (Ofensa Grosera)
TALEGO – Talego digital (Ofensa Grosera)
ANTI es mi banda favorita de OI!, y seguramente lo que más he escuchado este año. Canciones para mirar a los ojos al colega mientras meamos en cuclillas detrás de un coche, tras haber bebido unos vasos de agua y tenido unas peleas. No a la droga.

Talego es mi banda favorita de rumba punk, un género musical imprudente. Aparecen por aquí ESKORBUTO, LOS CHICHOS, CICATRIZ, PATA NEGRA, CAMARÓN, CADENAZO, DICK DALE, PERET o LAS GRECAS. Una mezcla popular que hay que bailar en cuadrilla. No a la droga.

THE SOURDROPS – Oh So Sour LP (Auto Producción)
Han conseguido hacer las canciones más bellas y destartaladas que he escuchado este año. Parecen salidos de una lavadora de flores a la que no le hace falta centrifugar, y la ropa huele muy bien. Suenan a la postal que escribiría a mi novia para que se viniera a vivir a mi pueblo.

KRIEGSHÖG – Love & Revenge LP (La Vida Es Un Mus)
Este disco está construido por el albañil de la venganza, con ayuda de tres peones: El odio, el hardcore y un puño de acero. Me inquieta que algo que percibimos con una tensión tan alta tenga una canción llamada “Serenity.”

GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR – Total Demonstration 12” (Symphony Of Destruction)
Diez ataques contra el imperialismo, el dinero, la explotación. Diez exabruptos de aversión contra toda injusticia. Diez embestidas de rencor y aceleración. Viva Palestina libre de todo estado.

MENCIONES: TOP 9 DE D-BEAT Y HARDCORE CRUDO

Desde que DISCHARGE explosionaron como gran fuerza de inspiración, año tras año sigue habiendo bandas que son pura agresión sonora y que tienen en sus letras un mensaje anti guerra y anti militar imprescindible. Usemos estos sonidos como arma política mientras no haya paz.

BLISTERING NOISE – Stop Gaza Genocide cassette (Damaging Instinct)

DESTRUCT / LIFE – To Stop the Conflict split LP (Desolate)

PIEGE – What The Future Will Bring cassette (Auto Producción)

ULTIMATE DISASTER – Demo 2024 cassette (Acute Noise Manufacture)

IGNORANCE – Nothing Changed EP (Iron Lung)

SQUANDER / WORLD BASTARD – split cassette (Noise Itch)
Las canciones de la reedición de “The Western Nightmare Continues” son igual de buenas.

NOMAD – 自殺 cassette (Toxic State)

NO FUCKER – Splinter the Empty Silence LP (Burning Anger / Rawmantic Disasters)

SVAVELDIOXID – Främmande Samtid Strämmande Framtid 10” (Phobia)

ZUZANNA VILLANUEVA

Zu From All Over has been an active contributor to Maximum Rocknroll for over two dozen months, producing a show for MRR Radio out of her home in Portland, OR.

This is not a reflection of who I was this year. It’s a reflection of who I am as a result of this year. I love you all very much.

HIGH VIS – Guided Tour LP (Dais)
I’ve been lucky enough to find at least one strong genre-bender album every year, and this year delivered! Guided Tour veeery successfully uses post-punk, hardcore, shoegaze, Britpop, and art-punk as baking ingredients instead of seasoning. Absolutely stunning production with songwriting that’s anthemic without being arrogant. It’s still pounding punk rock, but Christian Savill could totally slot into this band. It gave me hope while still letting me keep my fists clenched.

1-800 MIKEY – Digital Pet LP (Under The Gun / Erste Theke Tonträger)
It’s like that sweet cute kid that’s always dirty for some reason. He got all dirty and ripped his shirt when he was out climbing trees and rolling down grassy hills. He sees shapes in clouds and will tell you about them if he’s comfortable around you. He makes up superheroes and draws pictures of them in his textbooks. He’s too imaginative and precious to be considered “cool,” but when he gets to high school he’ll buy a guitar and a 1×12 combo with a vibrato knob and he’ll finally be a king.

S.H.I.T. – For a Better World 12” (Iron Lung / La Vida Es Un Mus)
Perfection. That’s it, that’s all I got. It’s perfect. Just, like, go listen to it. You’ll see what I mean when you listen to it. Go right now, stop reading this.

CHAT PILE – Cool World LP (Flenser / Evil Greed)
Despite how much I wanted to wash this year off of me, there’s still some stains from the muck. This record is heavy and thick like a warm weighted blanket of depression. It’s eclectic in its despair and mean-spiritedness, with junt breakdowns in a densely foggy mind. Although they do manage to add some gothic, post-punk chorus-y streaks of light to weirdly make it go down your gullet easier, if you needed a little sugar with your muck.

TÚ LA LLEVAS – Tú la Llevas LP (My Ruin)
Sweet Jesus, this multinational European band created something incredible. You can tell they enjoy playing music so much that the music enjoys itself. It’s music for music’s sake. The way a dog is happiest when it’s running. There’s no birthing process for this music, it’s never crawled. It came out running. Just lay in it for a bit, and let it run around you. You’ll feel better, I promise.

SALEM WOLVES – The Psychotron Speaks cassette (self-released)
This year I retreated into a fantasy world quite a lot, so a concept album centered around a pro wrestler was exactly what I needed. It’s a wonderful hero’s journey with good fighting to triumph over evil. It has this lovely sense of wonder, giving you a fully-built world to play around in, scored by a big anthemic sound that could sell out the Garden or the Tokyo Dome, or pack 93,173 people into the Pontiac Silverdome. Congrats, champs. I’m looking forward to the movie that this record will inevitably inspire.

TENSION PETS – Cubey cassette (self-released)
OK, think about how many weird species live in the ocean. The amount of wacky sounds and noises swimming around the Cubey cassette is just like that, but more like the Henry Selick sequences in The Life Aquatic than real life fish (or mammals or invertebrates or whatever’s down there). Sometimes they’re colorful, sometimes they’re cute, sometimes they’re beautiful, and sometimes they’re sea monsters. This record is less like scuba diving and more like pretend swimming in front of a green screen, and man oh man, if you could only see the zany shit they’re gonna comp in there.

HAYES NOBLE – As It Was, As We Were LP (Two Two One Press)
It’s an anxiety-reducer. It’s so thick and crushing, but the whole thing has an uplifting sheen to it. He acknowledges your continual anxiety and speaks its language, so he’s able to communicate with it and make it back off. Those fuzzy guitar leads are like a single ray of sunshine cutting through storm clouds. He doesn’t pull you out of it, but instead just sits down there with you.

STREET SWEEPER – Don’t Wait EP (Legless)
You ever wander into a pub on a Sunday afternoon and there’s a weekly house band that’s absolutely killing it with chant-alongs? STREET SWEEPER is that kind of ’60s and ’70s effortless charming rock band. I felt like I’ve known these songs since childhood, like I had heard them on the radio from the backseat. Throw this on at a party and watch everyone turn and say “where do I know this from?”

BAD YEAR – Bad Year LP (Snappy Little Numbers / Motorcycle Potluck)
I’m calling it. Record of the year 2k24, right here. 2024 was the worst year of my adult life, so when I initially saw the band name, I impulsively closed the application process and gave the position to them, even before listening to it. Luckily, the record turned out to genuinely be the one thing that I needed to hear this year! Anthemic, fist-pumping, brick-throwing, bottle-smashing, life-affirming perfect punk rock. It sounds like a sunset after a busy day. Thank you BAD YEAR for making my own bad year a little better.