Browsing Tag

Alt Punk

Marcus: the Apex Predator! Stripped Post-Hardcore to the Scuzzy Bones with Newborn Fossil

Posted on 1 March 2025

Stripped to its scuzzy lo-fi bones, Newborn Fossil isn’t just another entry into post-hardcore’s self-indulgent catalogue—it’s a jagged-edged shot of adrenaline aimed directly at the genre’s more pretentious corners. Detroit’s Marcus: the Apex Predator! barrels through any expectations of polish, letting raw, ragged production amplify the gut-punch impact of the riffs, which charge forward with the same rallying spirit that made Against Me! anthemic.

Formed in 2015, the band sees Kevin Watts (guitar, vocals) reuniting with Float Here Forever bandmate Nick Marko, alongside bassist Sean Bondareff (Kind Beast). With tracking handled by Jake Shives and Grammy-winning Detroit legend Dave Feeny giving the final mix its teeth, Newborn Fossil thrives in the tension between melody and mayhem. The angular riffs may be sharp enough to draw blood, but they still worm their way under the skin, while the vocals engulf the listener in euphoric angst.

The raw edge doesn’t dull the hooks—if anything, the visceral charge makes them hit harder. It’s punk AF, but it doesn’t forsake melody for aggression, proving that a song can make an affecting impact without abandoning euphonic appeal. If this is the kind of electricity Marcus: the Apex Predator! captures on record, their live shows must be nothing short of a raucous spiritual awakening.

Newborn Fossil was officially released on February 14 and is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Apple Music and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Disco Lizards’ Life Lessons: A Post-Punk Bite with Anthemic Teeth

Posted on 19 February 2025

Disco Lizards’ latest single, Life Lessons, doesn’t hesitate before it goes straight for the jugular with an instant hook of augmented indie post-punk guitars. As the infectious onslaught of vocals rolls across the solid rhythm section, the track sears with sardonic wit. It hits with the bouncy, brashy glamour of Ramones and New York Dolls, while vocally, Disco Lizards land somewhere between The Fall and Half-Man Half-Biscuit, ensuring every syllable drips with a knowing smirk.

Founded by Matt Stolworthy in 2018, Disco Lizards started etching their legacy in the underground with their 2020 debut album Ride Ride Ride, followed by the 2022 EP Roll Over Red Rover. After reshuffling their lineup in 2024, with Mo El Shalakani, Jack Dunnigan, Nino Savoia, and Josephine Keller joining the ranks, they reignited their live reputation with three sold-out shows across London.

That raucous to the nth degree energy bleeds into Life Lessons, a track that bottles the chaos of city life, dating misadventures, and the grind of survival, all served with tongue-in-cheek cynicism. It gives you a taste for the live experience, but you won’t be fully sated until you’ve gorged on the real deal. And with a new album in the works, the appetite is only going to grow.

Life Lessons is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Boy by As Rome Burns: A Defiant Punk-Laden Anthem Against Patriarchal Poison

Posted on 22 January 2025

While punk, as a concept, is becoming increasingly harder to define, there’s no denying that it runs thick in the veins of the debut single, Boy, from the London-based sharp-witted antagonists, As Rome Burns.

With an unmistakable cerebral echo of The Fall drifting around the crunched chords that pulsate feverish energy into the anthemic melting pot of punk, grunge and indie, the protestive exposition of patriarchal violence and how it poisons the well of modernity knows exactly what trigger points to press and hits them hard enough to bruise.

If you could imagine what the Offspring would sound like if Mark E Smith, Rage Against the Machine and IDLES had some creative input, you’ll come close to getting an idea of what As Rome Burns delivered with their explosively authentic first foray onto the airwaves.

Boy is so much more than a mash of influence and contrasting genres; the inaugural release became a conduit of the artist’s ethos to throw progressive punches and stand against the threat of societal regression while allowing their raw originated sound to ramp up the visceralism of the socially conscious messaging.

Stream the debut single from As Rome Burns on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Head Wound annihilated the airwaves with their electro-punk hit, D.B.V.T.Y

Posted on 24 November 2024

On November 15th, Head Wound stormed the alt-punk scene with their joint EP with the local act Soft Exit. Head Wound’s contribution to the Split EP will undoubtedly cause plenty of people to check if Mike Patton has spawned another moniker.

The frenetically electric opening track, D.B.V.T.Y, is a rollercoaster of transgressions, from the seductive electronic opening salvo which throws back to the salacious appeal of Alec Empire to the prowling basslines that echo Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster to the Fantomas-esque outburst of sheer insanity which chews up typical time signatures and spits them out as relentless attacks of glitchy garage punk.

As the ferocious synthesis of punk, post-hardcore and math rock veers to its outro, you realise you never knew the true definition of aural intensity until you witnessed the juggernautical power of Head Wound. The Kuwait-based powerhouse isn’t just pushing boundaries, they’re launching an all-out assault on them until they’re bruised, broken and barely distinguishable.

Stream D.B.V.T.Y as part of Head Wound’s debut LP on all major platforms, including Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Punk Fury and Bruised Egos: Itz Namo Lets Loose in ‘SCREAMING’

Posted on 26 October 2024

At just 20, Itz Namo from Grand Rapids, Michigan, has already carved his niche in the pop-punk rock scene by blending garagey grit with earworm-worthy hooks. What started as a musical joke during his high school years has now catapulted him into the alt-pop-punk spotlight with his latest single, ‘SCREAMING’.

Echoing the antagonised energy of Fidlar, Itz Namo exhibits a deft hand in weaving augmented instrumentals around razor-sharp hooks in the visceral confession of the humiliation that comes when you shoot your shot with someone way out of your league, only to be knocked back to reality. The track is a cathartic middle finger to rejection, and with any luck, it’ll be the anthem to blast in the ears of incels who sulk in frustration and lash out with contempt when it turns out feelings aren’t mutual.

Namo’s high-octane energy and raw delivery make the track an infectiously bouncy amalgamation of alt-pop punk chaos. Beneath the brash riffs and brimming aggression, there’s a deeper emotional core for anyone who has ever found themselves on the receiving end of romantic disappointment.

With ‘SCREAMING’, Itz Namo proves that his knack for blending personal confessions with high-energy punk is a goldmine for the genre. It’s only a matter of time before more people start tuning into the infectious chaos he’s bringing to the scene.

SCREAMING is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Knottie Boys are on unhallowed ground with their horror punk hit, Monster Man

Posted on 21 October 2024

The Knottie Boys came through just in time for Halloween with their horror punk LP, The Weeping of Los Alamos, featuring the ferocious sonic juggernaut, Monster Man.

With The Creepshow-esque vocals, odes to The Misfits’ iconically infectious sonic signature and ska-reminiscent brass for good measure, Knottie Boys haunted the middle ground between psychobilly and horror punk with a tumultuous anthem that sweeps you up in its adrenalised riptide of frenetic energy.

As the third album from the Long Island-hailing alt-punk powerhouse who borrow influences from all across the punk spectrum, The Weeping of Los Alamos is set to skyrocket The Knottie Boys to even greater heights. Their ability to ensure their influences never outshine their ingenuity is on full display in the 15-part installation of cultivated chaos.

The Stream Knottie Boys’ LP, The Weeping of Los Alamos in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Goldfish24 pioneered a new wave of hyper-popped punk with ‘The Pit of My Life’

Posted on 20 August 2024

Goldfish24’s sonic riot of innovative expression, The Pit of My Life, starts with a raw, rugged, and intimate folk-punk overture before the melodicism sinks into a genre-fluid production that toys with the aesthetics of trap and hyperpop to animate an infectious earworm which sets the stage for the artist to emerge as one of the fiercest punk pioneers of his generation.

While the emotions in the single may weigh heavy, there isn’t an inch of space in the evocative riptide of a release for self-pity. Instead, the track is the epitome of running with your idiosyncrasies, embracing the chaos of the world, and finding resilience through irreverently witty tongue-in-cheek humour.

The Pit of My Life is the second chapter in the story Goldfish24 is narrating with his upcoming project, ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION. The single takes the first step in picking yourself up and coming to terms with the fact that life will always suck sometimes, and that’s okay. The mantra reverberates through the motifs as much as the lyricality, attesting to Goldfish24’s ability to fully visualise his psyche through sound. Brace yourself for the visceral vindication.

The Pit of My Life was officially released on August 16; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lewis Shepperd primed the masses for a clash against the classes with ‘Council Estate Reject’

Posted on 5 July 2024
Lewis Shepperd

Lewis Shepperd is set to viva la revolutionise the airwaves with his latest single, Council Estate Reject; whichever way the UK election swings on the day of the release, the scathed synthesis of indie, punk, rock, and Britpop will prime the masses for a long overdue revolt against the elite classes. Instead of placing faith in populist politicians and the façade of democracy, tune into this scintillating sonic insurrection.

The hypercharged punk pulse fed through the propulsive basslines and antagonised tempo of the percussion sends sparks of kinetic energy through the frenetic release which captures the collective sense of ennui, fires shots at the mindless monarchists, and evokes an insurgent riot. The three-minute liberation from the dystopia of our age is a sanctuary of electrifying escapism away from the misery that breathes down the neck of the working class.

So, if you miss when John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’ was fiction and the media didn’t solely serve to sink us into subordination, find the ultimate outlet in Council Estate Reject. The embodiment of the punk ethos filtered through an indie rock lens with croons far more seductive than Johnny Rotten was ever capable of, delivers a high-octane shot of vindication which amplifies in potency when the guitar solo slashes through the palpitatingly sweet production.

Council Estate Reject will be available to stream on all major platforms from July 5th; stream it via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

[SCRAP] pierced the post-punk innovation veil with their debut, All in Blind

Posted on 31 March 2024

With their debut single, All in Blind, the nefarious alchemists, [SCRAP], found the affecting middle ground between post-punk and post-grunge, the result is a culmination in artfully dark volition that will ensnare you from the first verse.

Reaching the epitome of deadpan seduction with the cadence of the devil may care spoken word lyrical delivery which cuts across the dark grungy pools of bleak ingenuity, [SCRAP] broke the post-punk mould with All in Blind.

In their own words, All in Blind puts you in the mind of a 21st-century East of England Joy Division, but even that is selling themselves short. They broke the spell of post-punk assimilation that has vexed the scene since the departure of the iconic Factory Records outfit with the rhythmics of All in Blind; especially when the unholy matrimony of the outro guitar solo affirms that, as a powerhouse, [SCRAP] is worth its weight in gold.

All in Blind hit the airwaves on March 5th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bag of Cats ignited a firestorm of twisted genre contortions in their dance-punk hit, Devil at My Houseparty

Posted on 26 February 2024

If you never got over the disbanding of the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, wipe your tears with the kinetic rhythms in the seminal single from the Welsh dance-punk duo, Bag of Cats.

Devil at My Houseparty, featuring Will Griff, is a mind-mashing blend of psych, garage rock and proto-punk, all pulled together by punk-pierced guitar loops and alt-electronica synthetics that augment the anthemic track to the nines.

Between the rolling rhythms, distorted blues riffs, and caustically infectious electronic elements inspired by the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Jamie T, Devil at My Houseparty is a firestorm of twisted genre contortions that will make your pulse pound and get the adrenaline flowing.

The magnetic appeal of the duo comprising Sophie Holliday and Barney Williams doesn’t end there; lyrically and vocally, Bag of Cats, couldn’t be more ensnaring. They’ve perfected the formula of playfully roguish swagger. The mischievously jocular vibe is definitively rock n roll, just not rock n roll as you’ve known it before.

In the process of giving the Welsh music scene more than it bargained for, Bag of Cats has garnered a staunch fanbase which only seems to grow with every release and livewire performance.

Devil at My Houseparty is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast