Punk Rock Record Reviews: The Best of 2024, Part Nine.
Links: Punk Rock Record Reviews Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight.
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 Briefs “High Society”
Released: October 18, 2024
Format: 7” vinyl, digital download
Label: TKO Records
From: Seattle, WA
I was lucky enough to catch The Briefs live at a Punk Rock Bowling pool party on the roof of the Downtown Grand Hotel in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. They absolutely killed, it was one of the best punk rock sets I have ever witnessed. Like a lot of bands, they have that one song that is an absolute classic… for The Briefs it’s “Destroy The U.S.A.”. Of course they have plenty of other great songs (“Half Size Girl” and “Sylvia” also come to mind). This new single doesn’t quite pack the punch of their older stuff, but that’s a very high bar. This is a great single, and if they tour I will absolutely go see them by myself, downtown, on a Monday night… whatever I have to do.
Doc Rotten “S/T”
Released: January 12, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Trenton, New Jersey
Another new release that starts out with a bang, “Rotten Radio” is a great song with a great video. A new punk rock anthem that I couldn’t get out of my head for days. In the end, I also put “Y.S.F.U.” on my weekly playlist, but the entire record is solid. It never hurts to have a great logo and punk rock artwork either, there wasn’t a thing that I didn’t like about this one. After watching a few of their older videos, it looks like they switch up singers and their older releases are worth checking out as well (“Unite Resist” is great, and closer to street punk). The best thing about this one might be that it lead me to their older releases. I can’t wait for a tour. Fans of Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Booze& Glory, or just great sing-a-long punk rock.
MxPx “Set A Fire”
Released: October 18, 2024
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Bremerton, WA
First of all, I love this song. I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but the opening sounds like a montage of two of the best songs ever written (The Dead Kennedys “California Uber Alles” and “Bleed For Me”). The song changes it up significantly as it progresses, and sounds like the best of MxPx’s past catalog. The artwork is stellar as usual, and the sound is perfection. This is just a single song, so hopefully there is more forthcoming (i.e. a full length release that all sounds this good). I normally don’t include single songs in my reviews, but this one was just too good not to include. Fingers crossed for more.
Heartwells “The New Old School”
Released: June 28, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: Pirates Press
From: Long Beach, California
This starts off great, the first song “Death of Rock N Roll” is amazing and I was planning to buy it after hearing just that one song. They immediately reminded me of NOFX, but they are not necessarily NOFX clones. They have the NOFX sound and level of talent (although when “Coasted” started, I could have swore they were busting into a cover of NOFX’s “It’s My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite”). This is their only release on discogs, although they have a few bandcamp releases that preceded it. I’m assuming they are a new band, and that this is their debut. Well, kudos because it’s really good (and don’t get me wrong, the NOFX comparisons are a compliment considering that NOFX is my all-time favorite band). And OK, the singer does sound like Fat Mike (again, a compliment). My favorite songs were “Death of Rock N Roll”, “EERIE”, “Coasted” and “Great Divide”. Fans of NOFX, Teenage Bottlerocket, MxPx, Descendents, Bad Religion will love this.
Pest Control “Year Of The Pest”
Released: October 25, 2024
Format: Digital downlaod
Label: Quality Control/ Triple B
From: Leeds, West Yorkshire, U.K.
I was lucky enough to catch Pest Control live at this years Tied Down festival in Detroit. Their 2023 LP “Don’t Test The Pest” was one of my favorite releases of the year, so of course I had to catch them live. They were a young band, with a female vocalist, but playing extreme hardcore/thrash with a metal edge. There are definitely some metal influences, but they mostly fall into the hardcore genre (you can expect the two step to go down at their shows). This is a 4-song EP, but a great follow up to their LP from last year. Great cover art, and the whole thing clocks in at under 10 minutes. Fans of Bad Beat, Sunami, Never Ending Game, GEL, Conservative Military Image, End It, or just crazy fast screaming hardcore that you can two step to, will love this one.
Authority Zero “Lights Out!”
Released: September 27, 2024
Format: Digital download
Label: Operation Records
From: Arizona
Another teaser single, this time from Authority Zero. They are reportedly going to release a six-song EP titled “Thirty Years: Speaking to the Youth” to commemorate 30 years as a band. This is being coupled with a tour that includes Mad Caddies and Belvedere. I consider their song “Painted Windows” to be a classic, but they have quite a few bangers (“Taking On The World”, “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free”, “Wake Up Call”, and “Siempre Loco” to name a few). This song is right up there with their best, if I end up doing a “Best of 2024” for single digital songs, this will be on it for sure. I will be all over the full release as soon as it’s available.
Dopamines “S/T”
Released: October 18, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, cassette, digital download
Label: Rad Girlfriend Records
From: Dayton, Ohio
According to discogs, Dopamines have been around 16 or so years. This is their 5th album, but their first release in 7 years. This band is fairly close to me, given that I’m in Michigan and they are from Ohio. I’m definitely going to watch for them, they would be a great band to catch live. This was the first time I heard them and it’s really good pop-punk, good enough that I plan to go back and check out their older releases and catch a live show. I’m a sucker for layered, yelled vocals, rather than singing. They have some stand-out bass lines, and are just fast enough (some of the time) that the songs really stayed with me. “Wedge” and “For Heaven’s Sake Pt. 2” went right to my weekly playlist. Fans of The Putz, The Dillinger Four, Raging Nathans, Toys That Kill, Direct Hit, Sack, Middle-Out.
Burning Heads “Embers of Protest”
Released: April 19. 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, digital download
Label: Kicking Records
From: France
They have been around since 1987 and have a ton of releases (it looks like this is their 16th full length). Over the years, I’ve picked up a few of their releases and a few of their songs stuck. This one is no different - not every song is a banger, but the ones that are really rip (for melodic punk rock). “Pyromaniac” was one of my favorites, and both “Red” and “Happy New Fear” were the shortest/fastest which I always gravitate to. Fans of their other releases, melodic punk rock, or if you are just checking out all of the decent releases in 2024, this is worth a listen.
Bayside “There are Worse Things Than Being Alive”
Released: April 5, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, digital download
Label: Hopeless Records
From: New York, New York
Bayside is a self-proclaimed cult. They have a distinct metal influence and Ice Nine Kills (a metal band) guests on one of the songs. Their overall sound is post-punk and it took a few listens for me decide if I liked it or not. They are from New York which has a crazy hardcore scene, so I imagine that was part of their influence. The vocals are not screamed and overall it doesn’t have the fast pop-punk beat (although it does pick up at a few points). The songs are a little too long overall (between 3 and 4 minutes), and the pace a little too slow, for me to really love this. I did like it more and more with each listen, so I decided to keep it in my top 100, and I will continue to play it. At times I would have compared them to Strung Out or Refused, other songs (or parts of songs) were closer to Off With Their Heads or Direct Hit. They have been around for almost 25 years, so when I have time I’ll go back check out some of their older stuff, which hopefully is a little more raw.
Pack Rat “Life’s A Trap”
Released: July 12, 2024
Format: Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: Drunken Sailor Records
From: Vancouver BC, Canada
I was excited right away to see short songs (one of them with “punk” right in the title), most of them under or right around 2 minutes. This is another band with shouted vocals, rather than sung, which again I prefer. They have a late 70’s punk sound, mostly female vocals (from Brat Boy’s Bella Mckee), and are relatively fast and catchy. This will be an instant hit for fans of bands like Snooper, The Briefs, Itchy And The Nits or Amyl and The Sniffers. I did a little research, and this band was started by Patrick McEachnie from Chain Whip (2023’s “Call Of The Knife” was in my top 100 of that year). They had one LP and a single before this, when I get some time I plan to check those out as well.
