Only seven weeks left to go.
Here at Punk Goes Prenatt, for the next 10 weeks, I’ll give you 100 artists that you need to tune your attention to throughout 2020. This list will feature numerous acts from numerous genres.
This is part three of ten. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.
Lizzy Farrall
Hometown: Chester, UK
Out Now: Barbados – EP (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: The 1975, Hayley Williams, Taylor Swift
Who knew that switching from being a singer-songwriter to a pop artist would work out so well? Lizzy Farrall is currently riding off the success of her 2019 EP Barbados, a major change in her style. Dropping her Jetty Bones-esque vibes for something that could be heard on alternative stations sandwiched between the likes of The Neighbourhood and Bastille was the best thing that could ever happen to Farrall. And while her music is now rooted in alt-pop, it’s not stopping her from leaving the music scene, doing shows with Trash Boat, Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties, Tiny Moving Parts, Four Year Strong, and The Story So Far. Hell, she was one of the few woman performers at last year’s Slam Dunk Festival, hoping to inspire more interest in female performers (it’s 2020 folks, c’mon.) But it doesn’t hurt her if she plays with Lights and He Is We. She’s not pigeonholing herself to staying in the minor leagues. Look out world, here comes Lizzy.
Song to Listen to: “Addict”
Kill The Lights
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN/Hamilton, Ontario, Canada/Grand Rapids, MI/Bridgend, Wales, UK
Out Now: Shed My Skin – Single (Fearless)
For Fans Of: As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Trivium
Do you miss the old metalcore sound of the early 2000s? Reminisce no more, because Kill The Lights are here. Made up of four veteran metalheads — vocalist James Clark (ex-Throw The Fight,) guitarists Jordan Whelan (Still Remains) and Travis Montgomery (Threat Signal,) and legendary drummer Michael “Moose” Thomas (ex-Bullet For My Valentine) — Kill The Lights are here to give you the finest metalcore the world has ever seen. They signed with Fearless Records (As It Is, Locket, Parting Gift) in late January 2020, dropping a new song called “Shed My Skin.” They played Download Festival in 2019 alongside Periphery, Northlane, and Polyphia.
Song to Listen to: “Shed My Skin”
Lil Xtra
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Out Now: Under The Weather – Single (Hopeless)
For Fans Of: 93FEETOFSMOKE, Fats’e, nothing,nowhere.
Atlanta has given us several successful rappers like Gucci Mane, Future, and the hip-hop duo OutKast. And now the city has gifted us another one: Lil Xtra. This emo rapper who’s real name is Clayton Roney started making music after receiving a shoulder injury from playing hockey and baseball as a teen. Clayton then began using his frustration and pain to create Lil Xtra. Since 2016, he has released numerous singles and two full-length albums. Clayton signed with pop-punk label Hopeless Records (Between You & Me, Have Mercy, Sylar) in late 2019, making him the second emo rapper on the label. He just wrapped up a tour with dying in designer earlier this month.
Song to Listen to: “Under The Weather”
Farewell Jupiter
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Out Now: Spineless – EP (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Dayshell, Make Them Suffer, Tear Out The Heart
Starting off as a solo project in 2017, local metalcore act Farewell Jupiter, created by Greg Buczkowski, are ready for anything. Now with bassist Thomas Fritton and drummer Adam Bretherton from Out Last (you know, the meme band,) he’s ready to make Farewell Jupiter shine not just in the local metal scene, but for the world to see. ” I had an engineer write the record while teaching me and helping me build an in home studio so I could take over the writing and production,” frontman Buczkowski reminisced. They’ve done shows with Out Last, In Vein, Soma Slumber, Dragged Under, and Lakeshore. 2020 will bring us a new EP from the trio as well as some more shows.
Song to Listen to: “Spineless”
DAY6
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Out Now: The Book of Us: Entropy (JYP Entertainment)
For Fans Of: 5 Seconds Of Summer, All Time Low, N.Flying
Never did I ever think I’d live to see the day that Alternative Press would put a K-Pop band on the cover of their magazine. Shocked, I decided to look up DAY6, and they’re pretty good. Why? Because it’s K-Pop-Punk. Mixing in elements of early 5 Seconds Of Summer and Dirty Work-era All Time Low, the five boys that make up DAY6 create music that would work for a Warped Tour crowd. Oh, and unlike most boy bands, they play instruments. So that’s a plus one. DAY6 have released four albums so far, their latest being The Book of Us: Entropy in 2019, embarked on three headlining tours across the globe, and won two awards at the 2018 Genie Music Awards. Who knows, maybe 2020 will be the year America tunes its ears to DAY6.
Song to Listen to: “Sweet Chaos”
Hero The Band
Hometown: Decatur, GA
Out Now: Back To Myself – EP (Lava/Republic)
For Fans Of: AWOLNATION, New Politics, Thirty Seconds To Mars
If you had to give Hero The Band a specific genre to label their music, you would be thinking until the end of time. The four biological brothers behind the Decantur, GA, quartet have been influenced by everyone from Pearl Jam and Soundgarden to The Fray and Rush. Hero The Band quickly bounce around from classic R&B to radio friendly alt-rock. Starting in 2010, the band of brothers have been working hard dropping three albums independently before signing with major labels Lava Records (Andy Black, Greta Van Fleet, Lorde) and Republic Records (88GLAM, Glass Animals, Of Monsters And Men) to drop their EP Back To Myself. Through the power of music, the Barnett brothers are trying to make the world a better place, one song at a time. They’ll be appearing at numerous festivals this year including Epicenter (Agnostic Front, Killstation, Nascar Aloe,) Shaky Knees (Beach Bunny, Jawbox, Portugal. The Man,) and Bonnaroo (Flume, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Tenacious D.)
Song to Listen to: “Back To Myself”
guccihighwaters
Hometown: New York, NY
Out Now: Candy (feat. Lund) – Single (Epitaph)
For Fans Of: Lil Lotus, Shinigami, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal
In the three years since Morgan Murphy, the man behind the name guccihighwaters, created his rap project, he has released numerous singles and the popular full-length Post Death. Not only that, but he got to tour with nothing,nowhere. and Against The Current. Oh, and he caught the attention of Epitaph Records (Architects, The Garden, Off With Their Heads,) signing with the punk label in late December 2019. So yeah, in the three years since he created guccihighwaters, Murphy’s pretty much living the dream. And it’s only up from here.
Song to Listen to: “highschool”
Moon Tooth
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Out Now: Crux (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: Between The Buried And Me, Mastodon, Protest The Hero
One of the strangest bands Pure Noise Records (Belmont, Less Than Jake, Violent Soho) has ever signed. The Long Island metal quartet have been riding high after the success of their sophomore record Crux. The album sold incredibly well, selling over 100,000+ streams in its first week. It also hit the Billboard charts, reaching #13 on Heatseekers, #23 on Hard Music, #43 on Indie Label, and #62 on Digital Albums. Hell, YouTube channel Rocked ranked Crux the second best album of 2019. They’ve toured with Animals As Leaders, Toothgrinder, and The Contortionist. If you’re a huge fan of Mastodon, then you’ll go crazy for Moon Tooth.
Song to Listen to: “Awe At All Angels”
Daze Ago
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Out Now: Break The Bottle – Single (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Ballyhoo!, Pepper, Slightly Stoopid
Reggae punks Daze Ago almost went as quickly as they came, going on a hiatus over the summer. That barely lasted when they surprised us with the track “Break The Bottle.” Mixing in the best elements of Sublime with Pepper, these Buffalonians are here to brighten up your day and get you dancing the blues away. They’ve played with Reggie Childs, Toy Box Brigade, and Sons Of Texas. Check them out, you won’t regret it.
Song to Listen to: “Break The Bottle”
Tones And I
Hometown: Frankston, Victoria, Australia
Out Now: The Kids Are Alright – EP (Elektra)
For Fans Of: Billie Eilish, Mallrat, SHAED
If you listen to the radio, chances are you heard a song called “Dance Monkey.” The lyrics are overall catchy and it just sounds so damn good. And that song was made by Toni Watson aka Tones And I. But believe it or not, her manager didn’t want that song as a single. But here we are now talking about her and her catchy tune. The song was so successful that she ended up winning four awards at the ARIA Music Awards in 2019. And if you listen to the rest of her debut EP The Kids Are Alright, you’ll know that Watson isn’t going nowhere fast.
Song to Listen to: “Dance Monkey”
Come back next week for more artists!
Punk Goes Prenatt 