La Dispute was one of the bands in the late 2000s-into-this-decade that helped push the Wave, a group of emo-revivalist bands that played punk, pop-punk, screamo and post-hardcore, whether as a mix or independently. Known for their spoken-word/poetry, vocalist Jordan Dreyer often came in for flak for not being able to sing well, but being a Thursday fan and all, it didn't matter to me. LD pushed out quite a few heartfelt records, powerfully written to the point they felt like therapy, that reall

All Get Out are a band I won't stop glowing about if you ever ask me for indie/rock recommendations. I first heard them in 2011 after getting into Manchester Orchestra, and as the latter evolved, AGO managed to step into the kind of sound that made me fall in love with MO in the first place. Just listen to "The Season" and you'll get where I'm coming from. While AGO have made a few wanderings off the path here and there, though, it's a real pleasure to hear them go back to basics and to that ear

In 2017 The Menzingers graced us with their wonderful fifth studio album After The Party. In 2018 they did not release another full-length, but they did put out two new songs. In May the band digitally released the tune “Toy Soldier” and then “The Freaks” in October. And for their October/November US tour The Menzingers made these two tracks available on a 7-inch that fans could pick up at those shows.

Long time Menzingers fans know that the band’s vocals are led by Greg Barn

One of the many things that Laura Jane Grace said about Bought to Rot on Twitter was that Tom Petty, particularly his album Full Moon Fever, was a major influence on this album. So I expected a largely Tom Petty influenced album from Laura Jane Grace, which I was certainly interested to hear. But while the Tom Petty influence is definitely there—especially in the cleaner, less distorted guitars compared to Against Me!, and the stripped down, roots rock, bluesy elements to the al

I've covered Basement extensively for Punknews over the years and caught them a couple times in the US, and even interviewed them when they switched from Run For Cover Records to Fueled By Ramen. Really awesome dudes, and if they read this, they still owe me a burrito I left on the tour bus last year. What got me into them was colourmeinkindness -- an emo-grunge record which I'd say put them on the map. However, after dialling their sound back from a less heavy vibe to something more main

On October 18th I drove into Philly to The Tusk, a small venue situated upstairs at the Wooly Mammoth, ostensibly to see Billy Liar as he toured down the coast to this year's The Fest. Two other bands were announced, yet it turned out there were three. Score!!! There wasn't much of a theme to the gig- three of the acts were acoustic, two would be considered 'punk' in general terms. But that didn't stop this show from being pretty damn fun.

Starting things off were The Screamin' R

Suede Razor’s All the Hits and Misses has got to be one of the best straight up rock and roll albums of 2018. The San Francisco Bay area band has an impressive pedigree, being made up of established punk rockers from bands like Harrington Saints, Hounds & Harlots and Sydney Ducks. For Suede Razors, they take a more retro approach. You’ll hear bits of early punk, oi, mod, glam, and even classic rock. Some of the riffs and melodies would be right at home on a KISS or AC/DC record. Try im

There is no other human being like Lee “Scratch” Perry on this planet… that is, assuming that Perry is human and that he’s from this planet. Despite clocking in at 82 years of age, The Mighty Upsetter, as he is known with good reason, played an extended genre warping, mind tripping, two hour and fifteen minute show in Ardmore, Pennsylvania October 25. By the time the show was forced to end, Perry, who was active engaged, and doing high kicks throughout the night, seemed to want to do another hou

When I first heard Typesetter in 2014, Restorations was the first band that came to mind. Hearing them live at Riot Fest this year wasn't what I expected, however, as I didn't know how they changed up their style over the years. Admittedly, I wasn't following up as much, which was bad of me because Wild's End really was a solid record. Come Nothing Blues, while the sound is different, there's still so much of the old Typsetter to hold onto, but as the band waxes on about mental