Hello friends, and welcome to this shiny new column where I, Dylan (otherwise known as Screeching Bottlerocket), tell you what new full-length albums, EPs, singles, and miscellaneous other punk-related news snippets I enjoyed the most this month. 2023 is off to a pretty strong start for punk rock, if you ask me. There’s already been a steady stream of announcements coming from members of the old guard like NOFX, the Bouncing Souls, and Less Than Jake; a lot of exciting newer bands are making their mark as well. Let’s talk about it!
For those who prefer to watch a video instead of reading, I’ll also be joining my friends at Punk Rock Radar to talk about the best new releases every month. If you like discovering awesome new punk bands as much as I do, I highly recommend following them on Instagram, checking out their Upcoming Release Calendar, and subscribing on YouTube.
Here’s the video for January:
COLORSFADE
Built From The Wreckage
The first album of 2023 to earn the distinguished honor of receiving a review by me is Quebec skate punk band Colorsfade‘s new LP Built From The Wreckage. This album is all killer, no filler in the most literal sense. Extremely heavy favorite for my end of year Top 10 list.
MARK MURPHY & THE MEDS
Monochrome
Liverpool, UK’s Mark Murphy & The Meds released their sophomore album Monochrome and it is quite enjoyable. This is a straight up old school pop-punk record that reminds me quite a bit of One Man Army. Highly recommended listening:
ONE OF US
Self-Titled
What the fuck’s going on up there in Canada? We’re only a month into the year and America’s Hat has put out two absolutely bangin’ skate punk albums. Winnipeg’s One of Us make a massive statement with their self-titled debut LP. No exaggeration, I think this is one of the best first albums I’ve ever heard.
STANIS
Living Has Consequences
Stanis is a very good band from Italy with a kinda Satanic Surfers / No Use For A Name hybrid sound. Their new EP is excellent; fast, melodic, great guitars, and killer drums. You should listen to it!
OLD SCARS
Back to the Beginning
These guys kinda remind me of my fellow Floridians Against All Authority, except they don’t play ska… and they’re not from Florida. Anyway, Old Scars hail from Virginia Beach and their new 7-song EP Back to the Beginning is pretty fuckin’ good. Check it out if you like AAA or early Rancid:
BOUNCING SOULS
“Ten Stories High” / “Higher Ground”
My award 🏆 for Best Single of January goes to none other than the Bouncing Souls. The first two songs from Ten Stories High got me extremely hyped for the record. These tracks harken back to the Souls’ Anchors Aweigh era sound with big choruses and infectious hooks. I can’t wait til Ten Stories High releases in March and I can finally share my review with you fine people. Spoiler alert: the whole god damn album is just as amazing as these two songs.
DROPCASE
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it again, and again, and again. One of my favorite things about my involvement with Dying Scene has always been discovering new bands. My favorite discovery this month was Orange County, CA ska band Dropcase. These up-and-comers fuse ska with Turnstile-ish hardcore and it works really well. Check out their latest single “Accelerated” below, and lookout for their debut album coming at some undetermined point in the future.
Anyone who knows me knows Less Than Jake is my favorite band. Imagine my excitement when I found out they were in the studio recording something. They haven’t announced plans for a new full-length album, but their new vlog series “This Week in Less Than Jake” does reveal it is new music they’re working on, so that’s pretty cool:
On an unrelated note, 2023 also marks the 25th Anniversary of Hello Rockview‘s release. Considering Losing Streak got a 25th Anniversary vinyl reissue in 2021, I think it’s safe to expect Rockview will get the same treatment this year – so that’s something else my fellow LTJ enjoyers have to look forward to.
NOFX ANNOUNCES FIRST US SHOWS ON FINAL TOUR
NOFX announced the first round of US dates on their Final Tour. As far as I’m concerned, the coolest part of this news is that St. Pete, FL made the cut! They’ll be playing different albums in each city. My stop gets So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes, White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean & The Decline. Fuck yeah! Fellow Tampa Bay residents: I’ll see you at Vinoy Park in September. This should have a fun old school Warped Tour kinda feel (read: a bunch of old punx collapsing from heat exhaustion because a bottle of water costs $10).
STRUNG OUT WORKING ON NEW ALBUM
SoCal punk legends Strung Out are back in the lab working on LP # 10. I wasn’t the biggest fan of their last record, but I’m very anxious for what’s in store. Jason also has a new album coming soon from his side project Jason Cruz and Howl; we hosted the exclusive premiere for “Good Hands” music video so you should check that out.
AWESOME NEW “BAND”: DEAD ALRIGHT
Montreal’s Dead Alright is a brand new one-man skate punk band. The project is the brainchild of Brand New Lungs singer Louis-Charles Berthiaum. He already released two singles this month (both are great), and he’s going to continue to put out a steady stream of songs until a full-length album is completed and ready for release on Thousand Islands Records. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Dead Alright! For now, I recommend checking the first two singles out:
I also recently joined my friends at Punk Rock Radar to talk at greater length about some of the biggest new punk albums that are slated to release in 2023. We cover the Bouncing Souls, MxPx, Frenzal Rhomb, Diesel Boy, Strung Out, etc. and rank our excitement for each record on a scale of 1 to 10. Be sure to check that out (I can think of worse ways to kill 30 minutes 😉):
That concludes this first installment of the column. Thanks for checking it out! Hopefully you learned something new that enriched your life. Keep your eyes glued to Dying Scene for all things punk rock (check out our New Releases section! I’m trying to keep that stocked with cool new shit all the time), and join me again next month for the February edition of Dylan’s Favorite Punk Albums, EPs & Things.
Here’s a Spotify playlist with songs from most of the releases we talked about:
Chad
This is awesome. Thank you.
Screeching Bottlerocket
Thanks for checking it out ❤️