If I may, I’d like to start with a brief anecdote. A few years back, Hipshot Killer reached out to Punknews looking for a review of their second album, They Will Try To Kill Us All. I had never heard of the band, but they were a rare combination of polite and persistent, so I volunteered. Before I could get my thoughts organized, former PN mainstay Rich Cocksedge submitted a review and saved me the trouble. Not surprisingly, Rich’s review was well done. Maybe slightly more surprisingly

I’m pretty burned out on folk punk. I very rarely find myself listening to it anymore. That’s why it’s even more surprising how much I love All Are Welcome. Actually, I think it’s a testament to how damn good this is. Folk punk and alt country have too often become the place where old punk frontmen go to die. Some are better at it than others, but it usually just ends up being basic punk songs played on acoustic instruments. That simplicity rarely works without speed and bombast

Either a debut full length following a string of singles or a compilation of the band’s best work depending on your view of things, E is 4 ExBats demonstrates the South West band bending a skewed view of the world into some classic frames. ExBats are weird and they might not realize how weird they are, which makes the album all that much more interest.

A band composed of daughter Inez on drums and vocals and pops Kenny in guitar, the band wades into some surprisingly dark t

I've listened to this record quite a bit and finally sitting to type it up today, well I had to muster some courage and nerve because of the messages it preaches against mental health and depression. And as you all know, we've lost a dear Punknews community member in Britt Strummer, so honestly, it'd be remiss of me not to really dig into why Free Throw's What's Past Is Prologue may be one of the most needed records of the year.

It covers so many issues, but most of all, it

Few releases are as bittersweet as Ellen and the Degenerates first proper studio album, Return of the Herb. Almost immediately after album release, the band stated that they are breaking up. Even worse is that like few debut LPs, Return of the Herb capitalizes and fully realizes the promises made by the band’s earlier demos and EPs.

Return is rooted in singer Elena’s skewed perception. “Beach Dumpster” is ostensibly about seeing worth in oneself despite socie

The Coathangers have always walked the razor’s edge between wacky fun and sheer blackness. Sure “Getting mad and pumpin’ iron” was about annoyance and depression, but it was also a hilarious portrait of someone furiously slamming stacks at the gym. Likewise, “Squeeki Tiki” might have been about cutting off bad relationships with equal parts joy and regret, but c’mon, if that dog toy didn’t bring a smile to your face then you were a statue. Yet on their sixth album (and third as a power trio), an

PUP has never been a band to shy away from their feelings. But on Morbid Stuff, they leave nothing to the imagination, resulting in their best effort to date.

Morbid Stuff opens on a way too honest note, “I was bored as fuck sitting around and thinking all this morbid stuff, like if anyone I’ve slept with is dead.” The first line. The eleven songs do nothing to alleviate this feeling of the world closing in on you, with singer/guitarist Stefan Babcock going stra

When I was a kid, the rules were simple. Your first album was self titled. That was that. Now, things are much more complicated. It seems like bands can just release self titled albums any time they want. (I blame it on Metallica.) Or maybe there is some rhyme or reason behind it. Maybe it can signal a reboot of sorts. Or maybe they just couldn’t come up with a decent name. Either way, the new record from Lafayette, Indiana’s The Mound Builders is self titled. I had previously heard th

La Dispute are one of the few bands from The Wave that really haven't changed much about their style. Sure, they've evolved and aren't plugging the spastic, youthful exuberance kind of shouting and angst into their music anymore, but the spine of old is still there. They pay homage to their roots on all their albums, even while slightly shifting and recalibrating, but ultimately they're quite similar to what they were back in the day. Now, while peers like Touche Amore and Pianos Become the Teet