Hailing from Baltimore, MD, MEAN SEA has deep roots in the rock scene. Not only have members been involved with various projects over the years, including a band signed to Drive-Thru Records, they have also each spent years on the road honing their craft.
Strangely reminiscent of a dark, spooky take on PUP, MEAN SEA’s new track “Puke Mouth” is as catchy as it is unique. Take a listen now!
Pop punk band Homesick, from Madrid, Spain, drop a burst of energy in their new track “We Are Done!”
We Are Done is as much heavy hitting as it is melodic and easy to follow along with! Transitions of energy between verses and choruses leave you with a nice dynamic progression that’ll get your blood pumping. The choruses take you for a spin with a catchy melody-line and yelling towards the end. The lead guitar also does a great job of lightening the song up, while not being overpowering or abrupt. Be sure to listen to the end to hear the vocal-centric breakdown. It really kicks into the next part with all instruments!
Listen to “We Are Done” here and be sure to give Homesick a follow to stay up to date!
Fake a Home from Phoenix Arizona bring a new track under the genre of what they call “post-pop punk.”
You can really hear the differences from standard pop punk in this song with the diverse structure and the aggression in the lyrical content as well as the breakdown section. The song brings you through a fast paced personal story of manipulation that hints at an underlying aura of anger.
Be sure to listen to the whole track and catch the pounding wall of sound and emotion in the breakdown and outro section!
You can find Fake a Home on: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp
Columbus, OH, rock duo Spice Jar have a clear sense of direction for their music.
While their influences can be heard in the track, it bursts with originality and their own unique twist on indie punk.
Somewhat ironically, the track’s most familiar sound is not from other bands of the genre, but the vocal melody of Mumford and Sons’ “Little Lion Man”. Hearing that melody over a punk song instantly piqued my interest, and I hope you will enjoy the juxtaposition as much as I do.
The band will be releasing their debut EP Rom-Com soon, so stay tuned!
Young Fatigue tears into the societal standards and unrealistic expectations for body type and image with their second single “Am I Pretty Now?”
Not only does it contain pertinent lyrical content to issues in today’s society, but the track is also full of twists and turns alternating between heavy guitar, calm verses, wide chorus sections, and a pounding drum-heavy breakdown. With a seemingly upbeat chorus, the song is contrasted with dark undertones with distorted guitars and grungy basslines.
Be sure to follow this London based alt-punk band as they continue their journey because you know Young Fatigue has more bangers on the way!
You can find Young Fatigue on: Bandcamp | Instagram | Soundcloud
Based in Connecticut, American Thrills is a product of the pandemic. The band is made up of members of The Tired and True as well as Shut Up and Deal.
With an EP produced by Nick Bellmore (who has worked with Hatebreed and Make Do and Mend) on the way, saying I’m excited to hear more from this band would be an understatement. The EP will be released on December 18th, so keep your ears peeled!
With such a clean and clear mix, combined with their new classic punk sound akin to Off With Their Heads and Dropkick Murphys, American Thrills is ready to grow their audience!
You can find American Thrills on: their website | Facebook | Instagram
If you’ve been keeping up with what I’ve been sharing on RMP this year, you know this is at least the third time I’m sharing a new track from The Dirty Nil.
Normally I try not to share too much music from the same artist… But these songs have hit me so hard, I just couldn’t resist.
The band’s upcoming third full length drops on January 1st, 2021 and you can rest assured that it’s as killer as the singles from front to back. The album, which is being released by Dine Alone Records, will not disappoint you.
Until the album drops, you can enjoy one more from The Dirty Nil, “One More and The Bill” – take a listen!
Find The Dirty Nil on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp | their website
Portuguese rock quartet Zebra Libra have released an energetic, heavy-hitting track called “(De)generation”.
Accompanied by a very well directed and edited video, the song dives into the life of a young man trying to establish who he is as a part of society.
“(De)generation” is band’s first release of 2020, but we’re hoping it’s not the last – we need songs as kick-ass as “(De)generation” to help overcome the quarantine blues.
Find Zebra Libra on: Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
The Rough are no strangers to the San Diego, CA music scene… They’ve been holding down the fort for a few years now, yet their most explosive release is definitely their most recent.
One of the tracks off of their EP Clean Cut is “I Am The Thunder”, which features massive gang vocals on top of catchy riffs and a driving beat.
If you like SoCal punk with a pop punk hook, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Listen now!
Hello, welcome to Jera On Air. How has it been?
We had a blast at Jera! So cool to see people still into these songs we did 20 years ago.
Today you played the full Headcleaner album on stage. The bands breakthrough release in 1998 on Epitaph Records. Why did you pick this particular album?
Headcleaner was released twenty years ago. It was the first record we ever made, produced by our heroes of The Descendents, and released by our favourite label ever. We did a show earlier this year where we played the entire album. The good people of Jera asked us to do the same thing at the festival and we happily obliged.
You’ve just mentioned that you did a similar full Headcleaner set earlier this year in a venue in your hometown of Dordrecht. I couldn’t make it but how was this rare occasion?
It was fun to revisit those old songs, especially since we’ve been working on a new album for the last six months or so. The crowd was a mix of old friends and new ones, and we had two amazing bands playing with us that night: Note To Amy and Cooper. We’ve been playing shows with Cooper for twenty years, we go way back with those guys. They actually played with us when we did the album release party for Headcleaner 20 years ago.
For Headcleaner you got the opportunity to record at the legendary The Blasting Room studios with the even more legendary Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag). Guess that was a pleasant call from Brett Guerewitz (Bad Religion, Epitaph records) when he announced the news?
Actually, it was the other way around. Epitaph gave us absolute freedom, we could pick who ever we wanted to work with. And since we really loved the records that were made at The Blasting Room around that time, it really was a no-brainer: The Blasting Room! To this day we’re still very grateful for that opportunity. Not many people can say they made an album with their heroes. On one of the last days in the studio, Bill took us out into the mountains. I still remember him saying that above anything else, making a record should be fun. Bill and Stephen made sure it was just that.
Picking up on some of the songs on Headcleaner, it was 20 years ago. People change, but how do you feel on certain lyrics today such as those of Maybe Tomorrow that are sometimes dark.
It’s funny to hear you say Maybe Tomorrow is dark, ‘cause to us, there’s a sense of hope in those lyrics. But I see your point, generally speaking our lyrics were darker than those of other melodic punk bands. We always felt that part of what made us stand out from so many other bands was the content of our lyrics. Not all of our lyrics have aged that well, but I still like the words of Maybe Tomorrow.
On the other hand you also recorded a song like Ordinary Fight that appears to be timeless as it’s content is still very vibrant with the way the world is going. Is this still your view on the state of the world?
Taken at face value, Ordinary Fight is about fighting fascism. It is the first song we’ve ever written, and we felt we had to get that of chest. Looking at the world today, it’s safe to say there is still plenty to fight for.
It appears I Against I is more than a reunion tour like we’ve seen from many bands the last years. You’ve released a new song, Walk Away, it was featured on the White Russian Records label sampler earlier this year. And a new album is coming soon?
When we got back together last year, we had only one mission: to make a new record. We just finished it last month, and we’re very, very happy with how it turned out. People who liked Headcleaner will love this one. It’s very energetic and hyper melodic.
The new album is called ‘Small Waves’, it will be released on october 6th by White Russian Records.
What’s next for I Against I?
The good thing is that we don’t really know what’s next. We just want to meet new people and play with as many great bands as possible. As long as we’re having fun playing again, we will continue. And right now, we’re having more fun than ever.