In no particular order here are some of the sounds that helped me make it through 2021.
CHUBBY & THE GANG – ‘The Mutt’s Nuts’
‘The Mutt’s Nuts’ is a masterclass in punked-up pub rock and ‘Coming Up Tough‘ rocks with the back alley toughness of early AC/DC.
LES SHIRLEY – ‘Forever is Now’
As catchy as Omicron, this little ditty was played a lot over the summer. In the car, poolside, and in my head.
BOOTLICKER – ‘S/T’
Fierce and rage-filled like a feeding frenzy of piranhas relentlessly stripping the flesh from the bone.
TEEN MORTGAGE – ‘Smoked’
The DC duo makes an awful lot of noise and with dirty metallic riffs, post-punk menace, and face-melting doom.
LYSOL – ‘Soup for My Family’
The album is a buffet of riffs channeling the Stooges, Black Flag, and Motorhead with the distorted garage punk blast of a band like Teengenerate.
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS – ‘Comfort To Me’
You’ll either dance or go out and rob a bank. Goddamn, I love this band.
TABLE SCRAPS – ‘Coffin Face’
Table Scraps has always been skilled at incorporating some serious heavy metal chops into their garage-fuzz sound and now the ghost of Dick Dale is haunting this record.
Chain Whip – Two Step To Hell
More snotty I-don’t-give-a-fuck vibes from Vancouver’s Chain Whip. The band’s instrumental talents propel vocalist Joshy Atomic’s hoarse incensed snarls.
NEIGHBORHOOD BRATS – ‘Confines of Life’
The Brats are pros at delivering fast, loud and tight SoCal punk rock with a truckload of hooks and energy. Lyrically the songs address misogyny, labels, the climate crisis, and the general shitty state of the world.
CIVIC – ‘Future Forecast’
Built upon a rock-solid foundation of proto-punk like the Stooges and Dead Boys, with a brilliant infusion of post-punk, glam, and power-pop, this music is so goddamn perfect. It’s a shot to the solar plexus for anyone who says rock is dead.
THE AMENTA – ‘Revalator’
The Amenta return to forge nine tracks of blackened metal with hints of ambient and post-punk. Drop the needle on this one and watch as it sucks all of the air out of the room with its heaviness.
IDLES – ‘Crawler’
On ‘Crawler‘, IDLES further stretches out their tentacles, experimenting with effects and textures while maintaining the explosiveness.
RMBLR – ‘MF/EP’
24-carat snotty punk rock played by the world’s best rowdy bar band.
PINK ROOM – ‘Putain Royale’
Filthy and hooky and hits a sweet spot somewhere in the vicinity of noise, grunge, and hardcore.
Imploders – EXD
Toronto’s Imploders use blunt force on their debut release. These songs go hard right off the bat with a classic hardcore fury that will kick your ass into tomorrow.
