Punk Rock Record Reviews: The Best of 2025, Part One.
2024 was a great year for punk rock. If you followed my reviews last year, you know that I listened to around 400 new releases, and I liked nearly 150 of them enough to review. If you didn’t follow, check out my countdown of the top 50 releases of 2024. But 2024 is over, and we are now on to 2025. Killer punk rock is already being made, so I’m starting off with 10 that caught my attention and were all released in January of 2025. I’ve been trying to stay away from reissues since they wouldn’t be eligible for my top 50 countdown at the end of the year, but I’m going to spotlight a few of them this year (if they are exceptional).
Laura Jane Grace and Catbite “Live at the Empty Bottle”
Released: January 16, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Philadelphia, PA
This is a live set recorded at The Empty Bottle in Chicago, IL on 09/21/2024, during Riot Fest (where they also performed). All proceeds go to help those affected by the Los Angeles Wildfires, with a minimum donation of only $1 to download it from Bandcamp. I was on the rail for their set at Riot Fest, and it was amazing (one of my top sets of the year). The live recording is excellent, and while it cannot do justice to being at the live show, it’s well worth downloading. Catbite is a great ska band from Philadelphia, and with the addition of Laura Jane Grace on vocals, I can't imagine a better ensemble to bring back these classic Operation Ivy songs (other than Opy Ivy themselves). If you weren't at one of the shows, this is essential.
V/A “Rock Against Trump Vol 1”
Released: January 20, 2025
Format: Digital Download
Label: Punkerton Records
A nod to the "Rock Against Bush” Volume 1 and 2 CDs that Fat Wreck Chords put out all those years ago. This is a massive compilation available on Bandcamp from Punkerton Records. When I started this review, they had released 42 songs, but on a revisit there are now 65. And this is only volume one! This one started out (it looks like they have recently changed the song order) with a couple of hometown bands (I'm from the Detroit area), The Boy Detective and St. Thomas Boys Academy. I was familiar with some of the other bands as well, including Heartwells (which put out one of the top 5 albums of 2024), The Remote Controls (who contributed stellar NOFX and Sloppy Seconds covers to recent tribute albums), and Lost Planet Airmen (who contributed the incredible song "For A While" to the recent High End Denim Records compilation). Overall, a great way to hear music by a ton of bands that I otherwise may have missed, but in the end, my favorites were by Blind Adam and the Federal League, Half Dizzy, Skeetch, Antithought, and Teriyaki Beefsteak. I'll be checking out those bands in more depth when time permits, and if they have releases in 2025, they will likely be on my review list. Bonus, it looks like Half Dizzy is going to play a local show soon, so I may get to catch them live. Great compilation, and I've heard that a volume 2 is already in the works.
Three Speed “High Wire”
Released: January 25, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-Released
From: New Brunswick, Canada
Power pop is a sub-genre that I don't use all that often, but maybe I should. This band is self-described as power pop and may be a perfect example. They may also be the best new (new to me anyway) band that I've heard so far in 2025. A three-piece, called three-speed, that brings the speed when needed. They had a CD, "Long Gone," out in 2022, so they have been around at least a few years. "Surrender Nothin'," "Bummer Slumber," and "Battlin' The Blank Page" were early favorites, but in the end I added "Cynosure" and "Couch Surfer" to my monthly playlist. Props for adding the lyrics to each song right on their Bandcamp page, and the minimalist artwork really works. It's been a long time since I had to look a word up to see what it means (maybe since the last Bad Religion album), but "cynosure" was new to me ("a person or thing that is the center of attention or admiration"). I'll be following Three Speed to see what they do in the future and hopefully catch them out on tour. This one is well worth checking out.
Pridebowl “Picking Up The Pieces: Live At The Mill”
Released: January 1, 2025
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, digital download
Label: People of Punk Rock Records
From: Canada
This was recorded in 2024 at Red Bridge Fest. I've heard them before, and I remember liking them a lot, but I didn't realize that they hadn't put anything out in over 20 years, and this was a reunion of sorts. I'm not generally a fan of live albums, but this one has quite a few things going for it. First off, it's recorded very well—it sounds great. Also, since I don't actually have any of their original albums, most of this was new to me. It's fast and melodic, and I liked most of the songs immediately. I actually made a list of my favorite songs from this live album and then went back and found the original studio versions to add to my monthly playlist. Old fans will love this, and they may pick up some new ones as well. Hopefully this sparks interest in some new material and a tour?
Bad Idols “Changeling” (2025 Remaster)
Released: February 24, 2025 (earlier on Bandcamp)
Format: Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: Can’t Imagine Records
From: Knoxville, TN
I don't usually review reissues, but this one I had to make an exception for. From reading about them, their "Changeling" album was originally a (green) cassette in 2015. That session was recently remastered, and the songs are being released on vinyl limited to only 100. Of course, you can also get it on Bandcamp as a digital download (with no minimum, although I always encourage everyone to donate what they can). I'd never heard of Bad Idols before, and wow, was that a big miss. Discogs shows that they had albums in 2017, 2019, and 2023. Bandcamp has even more. I will definitely be going back to check out a lot more, but this reissue is crazy good (to some, I would expect that it’s considered a classic). It's always a welcome surprise to find an album this good that I'd never heard. "Devils," "Knoxville Punks Fuck Off," and "Drainer" are my early favorites and went directly to my monthly playlist. Fans of Heartwells, NOFX, Sick Move, and just fast, melodic punk and hardcore played with serious talent (other than vocals, which would ruin it!).
Eliminators “B.A.S.E.” (Demo)
Released: January 24, 2024
Format: Cassette, digital download
Label: Convulse Records
From: San Francisco, CA
A straight-edge hardcore band from the Bay Area, with a sound like 80's hardcore at it's best. All three songs made my monthly playlist, and they were so good that I went a step further and did some research on the band. Apparently the lead singer (Ace Stallings) was in a few other bands prior (Mutually Assured Destruction, Sentinal) and joined this band recently. I've been loving all of the hardcore shows and festivals over the past few years; these guys would be a major draw for me if they got onto one in my area. I'd like to see them step up the artwork on the next one, but otherwise this is top-notch. Listen, and then buy it.
Fastbreak “Fast Cars, Fast Women”
(RE)Released: January 25, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Iodine Recordings
From: Boston, Massachusetts
This brings me back to my love of 1980's straight-edge hardcore a la Minor Threat or Gorilla Biscuits. Short, fast songs screamed with energy. They formed in 1994, and this album was originally released in 1998. A little-known classic, it is being re-released for availability on Bandcamp. I had never heard this band until I stumbled upon this re-release, so I'm glad that they did it. I don't normally review re-releases, but I'm going to spotlight a few this year. I figure that if I had never heard this, there may be others that missed it too back in 1998. This is crazy good; the re-release is well-deserved. I'm not going to list any favorites since they are all good (well, I didn't put "Hate Your Way" at the top of this weekend's playlist).
Vigilante “Fear of Defeat”
Released: January 2, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Detroit MI
Beatdown hardcore from Detroit, with deep growling screamed vocals and plenty of breakdowns. I recently saw Vigilante with CMI at a local club show, and the mosh pit was as intense as you would expect. Jeff Gunnells from the legendary Detroit band Cold as Life does guest vocals on the opening song "Heart Is Cold," and Saffron Florea from Slice guests on the closing song "Fear Of Defeat.". "Run For Your Life" was my favorite after a few spins, but this rips all the way through. Fans of D-Bloc, Cold as Life, Never Ending Game, Sunami, Torena, or just killer hardcore will want to check this out.
Sabertooth Gary! “A.I. Against I”
Released: January 26, 2025
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Detroit, MI
Well-timed title, as I'm reviewing this the day after DeepSeek A.I. from China went live and NVidia lost 600 million in market value in a single day. Also a play, I'm sure, on Bad Brain's "I Against I" album title. I almost got to see them live, but this year's Black Christmas Festival was cancelled at the last minute (a month later, there is still no explanation why). Anyway, these guys are from Detroit, and they play punk rock, which is a perfect storm for a review. "Haiku Guru" and "Positive Grid" stood out on the first playthrough, but there were a lot of good songs (I need to play this a few more times). At times they sound a lot like The Meatmen (at the start of "Live Like Vampires" I had to turn and look to see if I was listening to Tesco Vee), also from Detroit, and that's a major compliment in my book. Fans of The Meatmen, or just Detroit-style punk rock, will want to check this out and catch a show.
Scary Hours “Can’t Contend”
Released: January 15, 2025
Format: Cassette, digital download
Label: Self-released
From: New Jersey
8-song cassette (7 if you exclude the intro) of hardcore from New Jersey. They really rip, and although some of the songs were a little long for my taste, they kept my attention. It looks like Ryan Struck wrote and performed all of the songs (and a sizable discography that goes back to 2018), but the YouTube videos are of a full band. The YouTube videos are good and added a lot to how much I enjoyed this release. The shortest song, "Can't Contend," at 1:34, was my favorite, along with "Muted Masses.". The entire release is worth a listen, though. Fans of Sunami, Torena, Vigilante, Bad Beat, Terror, and Never Ending Game. Or just watch this video, and then you will know.
