Punk Rock Record Reviews: The Best of 2024, Part Eight.
Links: Punk Rock Record Reviews Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven.
I listen primarily to punk, with my preferred subgenre being street punk. Speed rock, garage, skate punk, hardcore, pop punk, oi!, ska, grindcore, and even rockabilly fit the bill if done right. If I can catch a live show, it gives the release an edge. Here are a few releases from 2024 that I recommend you check out. These are in no particular order; however, I’m only reviewing releases that are in contention for the best release of the year. If I’m reviewing it, I liked it. When the New Year rolls around, I’ll put them in order and do a final article of the best of the best. Drop a comment at the bottom if there is a 2024 release you think I should check out; I most definitely will.
The Offspring “Supercharged”
Released: October 11, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, 2xCD, digital download
Label: Concord Records
From: California
The Offspring have a distinct sound, and sometimes I really love them. Other times I have a hard time considering them punk. But when they are good, they are really good ("Genocide," "Nitro," “Bad Habit”). This is their 11th album, and they are most definitely considered by most to be a top tier punk rock band capable of headlining the biggest festivals. They recently played Riot Fest, and while I skipped their set, I was impressed that Dexter came over to watch NOFX do their set from side stage (and got a few callouts from Fat Mike).
“Supercharged” is the best that I have heard from them in years. The song “Light It Up” caught my attention right away and brought me back to the best of "Smash.”. It’s got old school Offspring energy, and I’d buy the CD just for that song with no regrets. The rest of the album isn’t bad by any means, but that song is the definite standout. If you ever liked The Offspring, you need this one.
Haywire “Conditioned for Demolition”
Released: January 3, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: Daze/ Triple-B Records
From: Boston
I recently saw Haywire, a Boston hardcore band, live in Detroit with Terror and The Cro-Mags. They absolutely tore it up, which prompted me to track down their releases. “Conditioned for Demolition” (which features Adam Voss from Conservative Military Image on the track “Like A Train," Charles Walker from Chubby and the Gang on track “Love Song," and Colin Campbell from Colin of Arabia on track “Poser Disposer”) turned out to be their only release. It’s brand new and features all sorts of hardcore royalty. Recommended if you like bands that you can two step to, or if you just like your hardcore fast and violent. Fans of Terror, Conservative Military Image, GEL, Sunami, Sick of It All, Bad Beat. I am hoping to see these guys again soon, and fingers crossed they continue with releases of this caliber.
The Boy Detective “Art Theft”
Released: January 1, 2024
Format: Digital download
Label: N/A
From: Ypsilanti Michigan
The Boy Detective are from Ypsilanti Michigan, a local band for me. As far as I can tell, all of their music is digital downloads only. I was able to find releases on Bandcamp going back to 2018, but no vinyl or CDs. They recently played a show with Guttermouth, where I heard a few songs from the new album, and they were really good. This is ska, of course, so it helps if you are into bands like The Suicide Machines, Kill Lincoln, Against All Authority, or Operation Ivy. This is top-shelf ska-punk though, and it will definitely cross over into what punks like. At their recent live show, I counted members playing drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and a vocalist. They played a Goldfinger cover as well; that was not on this release. Highly recommended for anyone into the ska-punk sub-genre or any of the bands that I mentioned above.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes “Most People…”
Released: October 11, 2024
Format: 7” vinyl, Digital download
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
From: San Francisco, CA
I’m guessing that this release is basically for collectors, as it’s just two songs on vinyl from the most recent Me First And The Gimme Gimmes full length (“Blow It… at Madison’s Quinceanera”). Both songs are live, and as usual they take a couple of mediocre songs and make them much better. These are actually the two best songs on the full length, so if you only need two songs, this also makes sense. I’m still hoping for more studio recordings in the future. It doesn’t exactly match the cover photo, but in addition to Spike, it looks like the iteration of the band that played the Quinceanera (a girl’s 15th birthday party in Latin American) included C.J. Ramone (The Ramones), Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Andrew "Pinch" Pinching from English Dogs, and Swami John Reis from Rocket From The Crypt.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes “Blow It … at Madison’s Quinceanera”
Released: June 14, 2024
Format: CD, Digital download
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
From: San Francisco, CA
Very similar in theme to “Ruined Johnny’s Bar Mitzvah," this is another live album recorded at an event that may be staged, or may be real; who knows with them? This time we get covers from Black Sabbath (“Changes”), Captain and Tennille (“Love Will Keep Us Together”), Abba (“Dancing Queen”), Juice Newton (“Queen of Hearts”), and a bunch more. As usual, they change the words to insert Madison’s name and anecdotes about the show, and we get a few lines like “This next one’s a cover.” If you liked them before, you will like them now. I only wish this were a full on studio recording rather than live. Spike is one of the best frontmen in punk rock; I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall at this one.
Teen Mortgage “Teen Mortgage”
Released: January 19, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, cassette, digital download
Label: King Pizza Records
From: Washington D.C.
Similar to Soft Play that I reviewed earlier, Teen Mortgage is just two guys (a drummer and a lead guitarist that sings). They have a fuzzy sound; that really works. I’m not sure how this would translate to a live show (with just two guys), but the record is catchy and punk, and I like it. A good mix between garage and pop punk, the stand out songs for me were “Sick Day” and “S.W.A.S.”, and I’ve actually been listening to this all year and just now realized that it wasn’t in my list of reviews. Fans of Soft Play, Snooper, Dillinger Four, or garage punk in general would want to check this out.
King Thief “King Thief”
Released: October 11, 2024
Format: 180g Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: Thousand Islands Records
From: Montreal, Quebec Canada
King Thief is a supergroup with members of Teenage Bottlerocket, Choke, and other bands. The songs aren’t quite as short and fast as I prefer, but it was a jam right from the start (and in some ways I mean that literally, as there are a few more guitar jams than I usually like in my punk/hardcore songs). There was one song, “No Allies,” that clocked in at only 1:46 and will probably end up being my favorite. This was recommended to me by rival record reviewer Ryan Scott (who knows my taste), and it’s also on Thousand Islands Records (who have a good track record with great punk rock releases), so I gave it a good couple of listens. In the end, I would have purchased a few songs, but it appears to be restricted (on Bandcamp) to the whole digital album only. I’ll keep checking back. Fans of Rise Against and melodic hardcore, as well as any of the bands that this supergroup is made up of, would want to check this out.
The Sissy Boys “We Want To Fight”
Released: July 9, 2024
Format: Cassette, digital download
Label: Delayed Gratification Records
From: Muskegon, Michigan
The Sissy Boys (from Muskegon, Michigan) recently played a hardcore show at a local venue that included RZL DZL, Negative Approach, and Gorilla Biscuits. Despite the name, this is some brutal hardcore, and they held their own with the bigger names. I’m guessing this is their first release, but they do have some other songs on their soundcloud (“Punk Rock Pussy” was one of my favorites and isn’t on this cassette). Definitely a band to watch; hopefully they end up on more of the Tangent Gallery hardcore shows or maybe a tour with a more well-known hardcore band.
The Hip Priests “We Become Nothing”
Released: October 21, 2024
Format: 10” vinyl, Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Nottingham, U.K.
I first heard of The Hip Priests when the singer of local band The Dirtys would frequently wear one of their shirts. They are similar in sound, so I’m guessing that they toured together at some point back in the day. More recently, they were brought to my attention again when Electric Frankenstein covered “Young Savage,” and I remembered how much I absolutely love that song. To my surprise, a short time later I saw that they released a new EP, “We Become Nothing,” and I tracked it down immediately. This doesn’t pack the punch of their earlier stuff, but it’s still well worth tracking down. Fans of The Dirtys, Electric Frankenstein, The Hookers, Against the Grain, Turbonegro, The Candy Snatchers, speed rock bands, or lo-fi rock-n-roll should look into this (and more importantly, their older discography).
Mob 47 “Tills Du Dor”
Released: October 17, 2024
Format: 12” vinyl, digital download
Label: D-takt & Rapunk
From: Sweden
Ultra-fast D-beat from Sweden, possibly the fastest D-beat band that there is. I was surprised to see what I believe to be a new release from Mob 47, as they are a classic hardcore band that I first heard back in the 1980’s. Mob 47 has a song on possibly the greatest hardcore record, and greatest compilation record, of all time P.E.A.C.E./War (1984). I did the translation on the title, and it translates to “Until You Die”. A couple of songs under a minute, none over 2 minutes, this record smokes. 16 songs of face melting D-beat hardcore for the die-hards. It looks like they are also doing shows, touring, and hitting some of the big street punk festivals. Fans of any of the bands on P.E.A.C.E./War, Discharge, Crucifix, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Swedish D-beat, or just in-your-face punk rock will love this. I love this.
