DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (Pulley, 30footfall, Mustard Plug, Nancy Vandal & More!)

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time and this week’s Record Radar is, once again, fucking yuuuuuuge. Let’s get into it!

Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by our friends at Punk Rock Radar:

Two Pulley EPs are back in print, thanks to SBÄM and Double Helix Records. Time-Insensitive Material and The Long and Short of It are being reissued, each limited to 300 copies on three different color variants. You may recall these were just repackaged as part of the Encore 2xLP a few years ago, but this is the first time in over a decade either of these has been reissued as a standalone release. If you’re in the US, you can grab your copies here; if you’re in Europe, you’ll want to go here. These should start shipping in late April.

Another Record Radar, another sold out Fat Wreck release. Perhaps I should start doing those one-off Record Radar posts if a big release is announced in the middle of the week? Anyway! It’s NOFX. It’s The Decline. It’s the 25th Anniversary reissue. It’s sold out. Womp womp.

30footfall! They’ve got a new EP coming out later this month on People of Punk Rock Records. It’s their first new record in like a bagillion years! The 12″ EP titled National Treasure …And Other LaForgeries features 6 songs that were in the works before 30footfall guitarist Chris Laforge unfortunately passed in 2017. Pre-order the record here.

People of Punk Rock Records have a few more awesome new releases you should add to your cart while you’re grabbing that 30footfall record. Exhibit A: Montreal skate punk band Down Memory Lane‘s new Breathing Space LP. If you’re a fan of all things fast, melodic & awesome, don’t sleep on this. Shit’s a banger. Buy the record and while yer at it buy their last one, too.

Exhibit B: Hurry Up and Wait, the new album from Toronto melodic punk band Wasting Time. This one’s due out on April 12th and (spoiler alert) your friends at Dying Scene are exclusively premiering the album’s lead single tomorrow! Yes, that’s right. 9am eastern standard time, be there or be square. Also, pre-order the record!

Last week (I guess it was two weeks ago technically), I told you about a bunch of Aquabats reissues. Well there’s more Aquabats on tap this week because they announced their new album Finally!. Pre-orders are available here. You can get the double LP for $39.99, or if you’re a fucking idiot you can pay $119.99 for an autographed copy. LMAO

The Adolescents have a new 2xLP live record due out May 17th on Concrete Jungle Records. As its title suggests, The Rob Ritter Tapes – Live At Starwood 1980/1981 is a collection of recently unearthed recordings from Adolescents shows at Hollywood’s Starwood Nightclub in the early 80’s. For 32 euros* (plus value-added tax and shipping), you get two – count ’em, two – 180g LPs on red and blue wax AND two CDs! It’s an unbeatable value, folks. Pre-order the record here.

Let’s talk some ska, shall we? Albany three piece Girth Conrol‘s new record Life’s Too Short For Girth Control is the first of five(!) ska records I’m boutta tell you about. These guys are awesome, this record’s awesome. It’s out now. You should listen to it. You should buy it.

Less Than Jake and Bowling For Soup just toured the UK together and released a 7″ where they cover one of each other’s songs. LTJ does “High School Never Ends”, BFS does “The Science of Selling Yourself Short”. SBAM Records has this up for pre-order, only on their EU store for some reason. People of Punk Rock Records has some copies on their store for the North American crowd. Limited to 125 copies on Pink Splatter & 125 copies on Clear Splatter colored wax.

22 years after its original release Mustard Plug‘s Yellow #5 is finally getting a reissue. There are two variants for this one; the Smartpunk Exclusive Purple w/ Yellow & White Splatter is limited to 200 hand numbered copies, and Hopeless Records doesn’t say how many copies they pressed of the White w/ Purple & Green Splatter variant. Links to all the places you can buy are here.

Orange County (California, not Florida) ska band Half Past Two has signed to Bad Time Records for the release of their new album Talk is Killing Me, which is due out on April 19th. Check out the lead single below and pre-order the record here.

And last up in the ska segment of this week’s Record Radar we have The Kilograms, a new band with an all star lineup including Joe Gittleman of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sammy Kay, former Bouncing Souls Drummer Michael Mcdermott & J Duckworth from Newport Secret Six. The first pressing of their self-titled debut EP sold out almost instantly a few weeks ago, but the good news is Asbestos Records has already issued a second pressing of 300 copies on “Olive Drab” colored vinyl. Listen to the EP below and grab the 12″ here.

Bayside has a new album coming out on May 10th. It’s called There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive and so far three variants have been announced. The Smartpunk Exclusive clear(?) variant was limited to 300 copies and is already sold out, the splatter variant is sold out on Hopeless Records‘ US store but is still in stock on the EU store, and the translucent purple retail variant is in stock everywhere.

TSOL‘s new album A-Side Graffiti is out now on Kitten Robot Records. It features a mix of new original songs and covers. Check out my favorite song off the record below and get it on “colored vinyl” here (they don’t specify the color on the label’s store, but Rough Trade has it listed as “Red/White/Blue Blended”).

A few weeks ago we premiered the first of many tracks from our friends at Coffin Curse Records‘ upcoming NOFX tribute album I Heard They Broke Up!!. Since then, the 3xLP comp featuring 62(!) NOFX covers went up for pre-order and that shit is already soul doubt! If you missed out that sucks, but you can still get it on CD and hey, maybe there will be a 2nd pressing? Perchance.

Speaking of awesome shit we’ve done premieres for recently, let’s talk about Middle-Out! These guys are from Detroit and they kick fuckin’ ass. They’ve got a new record coming May 24th on Punkerton Records and it, too, is going to kick fuckin’ ass. Check out the latest single below and pre-order the LP on one of five variants (or just buy all five, why not?) by clicking this hyperlink.

The friendly people at Thousand Islands Records are flexing their might with a new label sampler comp! The Sauce Vol. 1 features 17 tracks from great bands like Belvedere, Chaser (they’ve got a new album on the way, too – that shit’s gonna be awesome), Straightline, Counterpunch & more. You can get it on green and/or purple colored wax here.

28 years after its original release on compact disc (otherwise known as CD by those not in the trade), Aussie punk veterans Nancy Vandal‘s 1996 album The Debriefing Room is getting its first-ever vinyl release thanks to Endless Detention Records. Limited to 200 copies on “Oh Yes, You’re Beautiful Splatter” (Purple w/ Green Splatter) and 50 copies on “Gladiator Green” (Translucent Green) colored vinyl. These are selling fast; get your copy here. Fun fact: Jay from Frenzal Rhomb was in the band and is on this record. It’s a great record!

Ceremony’s Rohnert Park LP gets its 10th pressing from Bridge Nine Records, with four new color variants. These are what they are, how many there are, and where you can get them:

– Red/White/Blue vinyl (300 copies, only available at Hollywood Palladium show on 2/29/24)
– Orange vinyl (300, Hard Times)
– Yellow vinyl (500, Revelation Records)
– Pink vinyl (1000, Bridge Nine store)

Cock Sparrer announced their new album Hand on Heart will be released on April 5th. Pirates Press Records (US) has some exclusive color variants up on their store, some of which have already sold out. Cherry Red Records (UK) has an exclusive variant of their own on red & black splatter, which also has alternate cover art – you can get that right here. Both labels have a picture disc as well, but why would you want that?

And last up this week, keeping it in the UK, we’ve got Snuff! Their new album Off on the Charabanc is due out March 22nd (or maybe it’s April 5th, I’m seeing both dates listed in different places) on SBAM Records. Two variants will be available to pre-order from the band’s webstore very soon – Red/Black and Grey/Black Marble. Three tracks are already streaming on YouTube as well, though I haven’t seen any mention of it on the band/label’s social media:

To wrap things up, I wanna give a quick shoutout to Planet Retro Records, a local record store I’d probably frequent if I wasn’t too fucking lazy to make the 30 minute intra-county pilgrimage from Clearwater to St. Petersburg, Florida. I stopped in this weekend and they’ve got all kinds of awesome shit – the “punk section” takes up half the store! I picked up one of my favorite Honest Don’s Records releases, Big In Japan’s Destroy the New Rock, for $9! Also Dead To Me’s Moscow Penny Ante, another record I’d been hunting for a while, for $18! I also scored a copy of Glue Gun’s The Scene is Not for Sale, an “import” (wink wink nudge nudge) copy of AFI’s Crash Love, and records from some St. Pete locals in No Loves and Awkward Age. If you find yourself in Pinellas County and you’re a punk record collector, be sure to hit up Planet Retro.

Well, that’s all, folks. Another Record Radar in the books. As always, thank you for tuning in. If there’s anything we missed (highly likely), or if you want to let everyone know about a new/upcoming vinyl release you’re excited about, leave us a comment below, or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, and we’ll look into it. Enjoy your weekend, and don’t blow too much money on spinny discs (or do, I’m not your father). Until next time…

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

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DS Review: Mustard Plug – “Where Did All My Friends Go?”

I am very excited to be reviewing Mustard Plug’s latest release on Bad Time Records, Where Did All My Friends Go?. In my younger years, I spent a good amount of time with my terrible ska-punk band opening for them. The heroes of the Michigan ska-punk scene have been known to put on a very […]

I am very excited to be reviewing Mustard Plug’s latest release on Bad Time Records, Where Did All My Friends Go?. In my younger years, I spent a good amount of time with my terrible ska-punk band opening for them. The heroes of the Michigan ska-punk scene have been known to put on a very energetic live show that can be hard to capture in the studio. Let me tell you, that is not the case regarding Where Did All My Friends Go?. They have captured what has made Mustard Plug a force to be reckoned with in the ska scene. The raw energy can be felt throughout this entire album. It really does take me back to being crammed in the small basement of the Dolphin House in Kalamazoo, shouting along with horns being blasted directly into your face. It’s amazing.

Check out the video for the latest single “Vampire”

Stand-out songs on this record for me include “Another Season Spent in Exile” which has the dynamic mix of the catchy ska verses mixed with more punk “whoa-oh-oh” choruses that I see becoming a staple during lives shows. “Why Does It Have To Be So Hard?” is such a catchy ska/reggae song and the melodica in the intro gives off serious Big D vibes and fits in so well throughout the rest of the song. My second favorite song on this record is “Distraction.” From the moment the horns come in, I am hooked on the intensity, and it’s a great juxtaposition to “Why Does It Have To Be So Hard?” Arguably, the hit here (and my personal favorite off this album) is the title track “Where Did All My Friends Go?” and it is the best way to lead off the record. This song will become one of the classic Mustard Plug songs and is sure to become played at every show.

Since I often listen to music in my car while the wife and I are out, I thought I’d get her take on this album. So, for my album reviews, I will be including the wife’s comments in a section I’d like to call “Wife’s Comments.”

Wife’s Comments: “This album is really hopping!”

Be sure to check out Mustard Plug “Where Did All My Friends Go?” September 8th and, following a handful of album release shows in their home turf of Michigan, will be out on tour this fall, starting off with Big D and the Kids Tables and Matamoska!

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DS Photo Gallery: Catbite / We Are The Union / Kill Lincoln / J. Navarro & The Traitors (Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL 7/7/23)

Dying Scene was at one of the final stops of the 2023 Bad Time Records Tour in Chicago at the Bottom Lounge, and boy was it a ska party for the ages! This show featured We Are The Union, Kill Lincoln, Catbite and J. Navarro & The Traitors…plus an epic ska-riffic on stage dance party […]

Dying Scene was at one of the final stops of the 2023 Bad Time Records Tour in Chicago at the Bottom Lounge, and boy was it a ska party for the ages! This show featured We Are The Union, Kill Lincoln, Catbite and J. Navarro & The Traitors…plus an epic ska-riffic on stage dance party to conclude the night.


Another sweet treat on this tour is the forthcoming documentary This Is New Tone that followed the entire Bad Time Records Tour. Here is the synopsis of the film:


“’THIS IS NEW TONE’ will be a concert film and documentary centered around the 2023 Bad Time Records Tour, featuring We Are The Union, Catbite, Kill Lincoln, BAD OPERATION, Omnigone, J. Navarro & The Traitors, and more.  Much in the spirit of the film “Dance Craze”, the film will primarily center on multi-camera live performances from throughout the tour, but will also document the the bands and crew as they embark on this full-US venture.  Featuring interviews from current band members, scene veterans, new fans, and ska legends, the film will also attempt to examine the current state of the modern ska punk scene, how it fits into the broader arc of ska’s history, and try to discover if the perceived “resurgence” is accurate or inflated. With many of the Bad Time Records bands rapidly growing, now is the perfect time to document the trajectory of the bands and the impact of the community.

The modern ska scene has never been captured in this way, and one of the main goals of the film is to make the live show experience accessible to those who are not able to attend the tour or shows in general.  We will attempt to make the film as immersive as possible, to show the full scope of the high energy live experience and community aspect that one can find at one of these shows, while also giving a better picture of what the bands are like as people on and off stage.  Bad Time Records is a completely DIY effort, and we aim to show that anyone can build up their own scene or collective and accomplish something significant without the support of major labels or corporations.

In the process of making the film, we will have a camera and sound crew documenting all 22 dates of the 2023 Bad Time Records tour.  Hours of interview footage has already been captured, and the majority of the remaining filming will take place during the tour in March, June, and July of 2023.  We are currently aiming for a December 2023 release of the film.”

A Kickstarter for the film has been launched and features tons of cool rewards. Make note to see this film when it releases!


Opening for the night was J. Navarro & The Traitors, featuring J. Navarro from the Suicide Machines and Ken Haas of Reverend Guitars. They recently released a new album All of Us or None and will be playing at The Supernova International Ska Festival in Fort Monroe, VA on September 16th, 2023 (the entire festival runs from September 15-17th).


Kill Lincoln brought their infectious energy next, including their own hype-man that danced the entire night.


We Are The Union released Ordinary Life on June 4th, 2021. Their song “Boys Will Be Girls” is incredibly catchy.


Closing out the night was the infamous Catbite. They recently released a cover with Brian Fallon from The Gaslight Anthem of “Yes It’s True” by The Slackers. You can listen here! Also consider buying the vinyl from Bad Time Records; all proceeds support Play On Philly, an organization the helps underserved youth in Philadelphia get music education.


Did you miss out on the Bad Time Records Tour? Not to worry- you can catch these artists back on the road soon (including Catbite touring with Anti-Flag and Bouncing Souls!!). Check out the rest of the photos below!


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DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (NOFX, Mad Caddies, Osker & more)

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is a weekly column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. And it seems like I say this every week, but I think […]

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is a weekly column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. And it seems like I say this every week, but I think this is actually the biggest installment of the Record Radar so far. It’s fucking yuuuuugeee!!! Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time. Let’s get into it!

Alright, lots of NOFX shit this week. Too much, honestly. Up first is this new variant of Eating Lamb (otherwise known as Heavy Petting Zoo). They pressed 2,000 copies(!!!) on “Ruby/Baby Blue” colored vinyl. Grab a copy here.

Epitaph also made 2,000 of these “Apple/Baby Blue” colored Pump Up the Valuum LPs, which you can purchase here. Boy oh boy are they milking you NOFX variant collectors, or what?

More NOFX!!! A few months ago, these 3xLP live records for the band’s final shows in Barcelona and Austria were announced. The art and color variants for these have finally been revealed… so I guess if you were on the fence about paying for live albums that haven’t been recorded yet, maybe this will sway you? Yes? No? Maybe so? I don’t know. Buy ’em here (Barcelona record) and here (Austria record).

Alright, from this point forward, no more NOFX. I pinky promise. Hey, look! It’s the Mad Caddies. You guys like the Mad Caddies, right? 2001’s Rock the Plank gets its first-ever colored vinyl release. Fat repressed it on black vinyl, too, if you don’t care about colors but want this record. Get yours here, they’re going fast.

If you haven’t heard of The Mopes, the band was fronted by Dan Vapid and also included his Screeching Weasel / Queers bandmates Jughead, B-Face, and Dan Lumley. Lookout! Records released their debut EP Lowdown, Two-Bit Sidewinder! on CD in 1998. 25 years later, Radiation Records is releasing it on vinyl for the first time. Pre-order here if you’re in Europe / Sounds Rad is distributing the record in the US, you can call “dibs” on it here.

Radiation Records is also releasing a 25th anniversary reissue of Italian pop-punk band Retarded’s debut LP. If you’re into Ramonescore, these guys are pretty fuckin’ tight and they’re still kicking. And just look at that color variant! Get the record here.

There certainly isn’t a shortage of reissues and repressings this week. Osker‘s debut album Treatment 5 gets its first new pressing in over 20 years thanks to our Spanish friends La Agonía de Vivir. Colored vinyl already sold out, but you can still get it on black wax here.

Here’s another one from La Agonía de Vivir: 22 Jacks’ debut album Uncle Bob gets released on vinyl for the first time, 25 years after it was brought into this god forsaken world. Steve Soto and Scott Shiflett played in this band, in case you weren’t aware. Buy the record here!

We covered this earlier in the week, but maybe you missed it so I’ll circle back. ALL’s 1998 classic Mass Nerder is getting a 25th Anniversary reissue. There’s a shitload of retailer-specific color variants, so I’ll just direct you to this post where I’ve aggregated links to all the places you can get all of them.

And since we’re already on the subject, have you pre-ordered the new NOT record? I did! These guys started a band for the sole purpose of writing songs that sound like ALL / Descendents songs that haven’t been written yet. And yes, it is as fun as it sounds. Their debut album Stop the World is out April 14th on Wiretap RecordsBrassneck Records, and Waterslide Records. Check out the awesome new single “Alien” below and pre-order the LP here (US) or here (UK).

The Briefs‘ sophomore album Off the Charts is getting a 20th Anniversary(?) reissue. It’s been remastered and has two bonus tracks tacked on the B-Side. There are three color variants and they’re all pretty limited. You can get your hands on all of them here.

We Are The Union‘s 2018 LP Self Care is back in print thanks to the friendly people at Bad Time Records. There are a few variants of this one – BTR has some on their webstore and there’s another one that’s only available on Bandcamp. There’s also a “Royal Blue” indie variant / band version; not sure where you’re gonna find that one.

And putting a bow on this week’s massive Record Radar is a new pressing of NYC ska legends The Slackers‘ 1998 album The Question from the fine folks at Pirates Press Records. They pressed 1,000 copies on “Electric Blue & Doublemint Galaxy” colored vinyl, and another thousand on black wax. And I gotta say, $25.99 for a double LP in this economy is a pretty fuckin’ good deal, too. Get it here.

RECORD OF THE WEEK!!!

This week’s Record of the Week comes from a newer band that I’ve been really stoked on lately. Winnipeg skate punks One of Us caught me by surprise with their incredible debut album back in January. It seems like a lot of other people like it as much as I do, because the first pressing sold out really fast. The good news for those who slept on this record is that Melodic Punk Style recognized the demand and is issuing a second pressing of this beast. Check it out below and pre-order the LP here.

And that’s all, folks! Another Record Radar in the books. As always, thank you for tuning in. If there’s anything we missed (highly likely), or if you want to let everyone know about a new/upcoming vinyl release you’re excited about, leave us a comment below, or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, and we’ll look into it. Enjoy your weekend, and don’t blow too much money on spinny discs. See ya next week!

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

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DS News: East Bay ska-punk band Omnigone (members of Link 80) announce new album “Against the Rest”, release video for lead single

East Bay ska-punks Omnigone have announced their new album Against the Rest, due out March 31st on Bad Time Records. The 15-song LP is the band’s second full-length release, following their 2019 debut No Faith. Check out the music video for the lead single (the album’s title track) below and pre-order the record here. Omnigone’s […]

East Bay ska-punks Omnigone have announced their new album Against the Rest, due out March 31st on Bad Time Records. The 15-song LP is the band’s second full-length release, following their 2019 debut No Faith. Check out the music video for the lead single (the album’s title track) below and pre-order the record here.

Omnigone’s core lineup includes two former members of Link 80, guitarist/vocalist Adam Davis and bassist Barry Krippene. Against the Rest sees the duo joined by a cast of musicians from bands like Rx Bandits, Flying Racoon Suit and Kitty Kat Fan Club. Suicide Machines singer Jason Navarro makes a guest appearance on track #2 “Communities in Collaboration”.

Catch the band on the Bad Time Records Tour this spring. They’ll be playing with labelmates We Are The Union, Catbite and Kill Lincoln at most of the tour’s west coast stops.

Omnigone – Against the Rest tracklist:

1. Against The Rest
2. Communities in Collaboration (feat. Jay Navarro)
3. One More Minute
4. In The Grey
5. Are We Ok?
6. Destroy Hymn
7. Tonight
8. Flip The Magnet
9. No More Looking Back
10. Relentless
11. Control
12. Kill Your Ego
13. Refusal
14. Web We Weave
15. Who Knows?

New Releases

Thirdface 11-01-2024
“Ministerial Cafeteria”
Diablogato 11-01-2024
“Snake Oil Salvation”
Coffin Salesman 11-01-2024
“Dream Of Fire”

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DS News: The Holophonics stream new album “Lavos”

Texas ska-punk band The Holophonics released their new album Lavos today on Bad Time Records. Give it a listen below and grab a physical copy here. The Holophonics are most well known for their long-running MaSKArades album series, which has seen them covering everything from old school video game soundtracks to Maroon 5 songs. Lavos […]

Texas ska-punk band The Holophonics released their new album Lavos today on Bad Time Records. Give it a listen below and grab a physical copy here.

The Holophonics are most well known for their long-running MaSKArades album series, which has seen them covering everything from old school video game soundtracks to Maroon 5 songs. Lavos is the band’s first album of original material since 2018’s Phantom Arrival.

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In Retrospect: The Best Albums We Missed While We Were Away (Part 1: Dylan’s picks)

Welcome back, friends! It’s been a while. Almost three years, in fact. It goes without saying that a lot of great music has been released in Dying Scene’s absence. To coincide with our little website’s “resurrection”, we’ll be highlighting some of the best albums we weren’t here to cover. Who knows? Maybe you missed some […]

Welcome back, friends! It’s been a while. Almost three years, in fact. It goes without saying that a lot of great music has been released in Dying Scene’s absence. To coincide with our little website’s “resurrection”, we’ll be highlighting some of the best albums we weren’t here to cover. Who knows? Maybe you missed some of them, too! Today’s list comes from longtime DS writer Dylan, aka “Screeching Bottlerocket”. Look forward to more entries in this series from some of our other contributors down the line.

Giant Eagles – Second Landing

The pride of Rotterdam, Netherlands, Giant Eagles have been pumping out extremely catchy, synthesizer-laden pop-punk for a while now. Their debut album Giant Egos was released in 2014, and their sophomore effort Second Landing arrived in 2020. The latter is without a doubt my favorite album of the 2020’s so far. The production is excellent (just listen to those fuckin’ synths!), and the songwriting is somehow even better. If you’re a fan of 90’s pop-punk and looking for a change of pace, I cannot recommend Giant Eagles enough.

Standout tracks: The entire album, especially Evil Robot Nation
Buy it: Mom’s Basement Records (USA) / Shield Recordings (EU) / Stardumb Records (EU)

Kill Lincoln – Can’t Complain

After going on a hiatus of their own for a few years, Washington, DC ska-punk band Kill Lincoln released their comeback album Can’t Complain in 2020. And what a comeback it was! This record seems to have officially put the band on the map, if the constant stream of represses it has received is any indication (seriously, they’re having a hard time keeping this thing in print). It is their most polished release to date, and they seem to have really honed their brand of bouncy pop-punk infused ska. Can’t Complain is a very fun record, and the perfect soundtrack for your summer.

Standout tracks: Greetings from Inner Space & Last Ditch Denial
Buy the record: Bad Time Records (USA) / HHV (EU)

Chaser – Dreamers 

Not many bands release their best music 20 years into their career, but Chaser isn’t like most bands. The Orange County melodic punk veterans made their triumphant return in 2018 with their first album in eight years, Sound the Sirens. They followed that with 2021’s Dreamers. I can safely say this is the definitive album of Chaser’s career thus far. It’s just really fucking good; melodic, fast, hard hitting skate punk. The cover art is awesome, too! Chaser is firing on all cylinders and isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Standout tracks: Good Times (just listen to that bassline!), The Ripper, Always With You & See You at the Show
Buy it: Sound Speed Records (USA) / Thousand Islands Records (Canada) / SBÄM (EU) / Pee Records (Australia)

The Putz – Rise and Shine

I’ve long been a fan of Indianapolis’ The Putz. Like most of the band’s previous work, their fourth full-length Rise and Shine checks all the boxes that I look for in a great pop-punk record. It’s a relentless 35 minute barrage of downstrokes, charmingly simple songwriting, and countless earworm hooks. If you told me this was a long-lost Lookout! Records release, I’d be inclined to believe you. This is a fantastic, well rounded album from one of the best pop-punk bands in the game.

Standout tracks: She’s a Brat, Kicked Out, Numbskull & Invitation Only
Buy it: Eccentric Pop Records (USA) / Stardumb Records (EU)

Victims of Circumstance – Five

One of the longest tenured bands in the Tampa Bay music scene, and the first local band I fell in love with, Victims of Circumstance delivered their aptly titled fifth album Five in 2020. It had been six long years since the ska-punk veterans’ last full-length No More Heroes, an album that would stay in my car’s CD player for months at a time. The good news is, the wait was worth it! Five is essential listening for any third wave ska fan. This album is brimming with grooving mid-tempo songs with chunky basslines, hard-hitting guitar driven punk anthems, and everything in between.

Standout tracks: Tonight We’re Getting Loud, Enemy, The Edge & Ready to Go
Buy it: vocska.com (CD) / Bandcamp (digital)

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