Three New Punk Singles That Are Heating up the Summer
Whether you’ve embraced “Brat Summer” or not, there’s no denying that a lot of new music has been released over the past few months. While the charts have been dominated by superstars like Chappell Roan and whatever dude from TikTok is singing in a high-pitched voice this month, a lot of great punk music has surfaced this summer. Pop music is often looked to as the “soundtrack of the summer,” but here are a few new punk rock songs that may have flown under your radar.
Bödel - “Bilan Faller”
Sweden is known for producing some of the best crusty d-beat bands and Bödel is no exception. This song, which translates to “The Axe Is Falling,” shows that they are masters of the genre. In their own words, “We don't want to reinvent the wheel but just spin it a little bit faster…”
The song features all of the ingredients of a solid d-beat track: crashing cymbals, dark riffs, and a call-and-response chorus. However formulaic this may seem on paper, what really sets Bödel is their vocalist Leya. Her voice is sharp and powerful, but her lyrics are still intelligible. Their debut EP, “Välkommen Till Avrättningen” was released on August 16th through DiSTAT Records and they are set for a vinyl release in the fall through US record label Atrocious Disarray.
Courtesy of Bödel
Old City - “Hollaback ft. Jovan Landry”
It’s no secret that punk rock and hip hop share more than a little common ground, but Old City bridges the gap. For the previously unfamiliar, “Hollaback” is a proper introduction. The track displays producer Justin Mayer’s signature style of sampling classic punk records to build hip hop beats. For “Hollaback,” Mayer made use of samples from Citizen Fish and Le Tigre. Lyricist / MC Tr38cho and guest MC Jovan Landry trade bars over the beat, as illustrated by a dating app text conversation in this video.
Old City is set to release their debut self-titled album through Get Better Records on September 13. Other featured artists on the album include MURS, Descendents, and Chaka Malik of BURN. Old City describes this new tapestry of gritty punk samples and boom bap beats as a “Punk Rock 'Paul's Boutique.’” Pre-orders for vinyl copies are available now!
Courtesy of Old City
Spider - “This Perfect Day”
Technically, “This Perfect Day” isn't a new song: it was originally recorded by Aussie rockers The Saints back in 1977. However, the song’s lyrics somehow seem more relevant today than they might have back then. Regardless of where you live or where you land on a political spectrum, you’ve probably felt like “It's all so funny I can't laugh,” more than a few times in recent years.
Spider’s new version of this song is driving and raw. Frontman Hector Martinez sneers through the microphone, rounding out the track’s frantic and paranoid energy. Among the band’s growing fan base is Iggy Pop, who played a few of their tracks on his BBC radio show. Spider just wrapped up a summer tour of the UK in support of their recent EP, “Death Match,” and they’re currently working on a full-length that’s set to release in 2025.
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