Less Than Jake, Youth Fountain, Koyo, More To Appear On Pure Noise Records/Pabst Blue Ribbon Cover Comp ‘Dead Formats Vol. 2″

It’s back!

Last year, indie label Pure Noise Records (’68, Galactic Empire, The Pink Spiders) and beer brand Pabst Blue Ribbon teamed up to create Dead Formats Vol. 1, a covers compilation featuring Pure Noise acts covering songs from the 90s and 2000s. As stated by Rock ‘N’ Load Mag, “The concept with Volume 1 was originally curated as a way for fans to discover new, like-minded bands, the same way legendary comps like Atticus’ Dragging The Lake, Punk O Rama, or the Vans Warped Tour Compilations did in the 90s and 2000s.” And now they’re back with another volume.

PBR and PNR announced on Tuesday that Dead Formats Vol. 2 is coming out on September 1st. They have already released three songs from the album, including ska-punk band Less Than Jake’s cover of The Kinks’ “Come Dancing”, pop-punk group Knuckle Puck’s rendition of Third Eye Blind’s “Losing A Whole Year”, and indie pop band Lavalove’s version of Nirvana’s “Lithium”. You can listen to these covers below.

Volume 2 also features bands like The Early November, Koyo, Action/Adventure, Youth Fountain, Mugshot, The Chisel, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Mint Green, Sad Park, The Bouncing Souls, and more. Check out the tracklist below.

1. Less Than Jake “Come Dancing” (The Kinks Cover)
2. Knuckle Puck “Losing A Whole Year” (Third Eye Blind Cover)
3. Lavalove “Lithium” (Nirvana Cover)
4. The Chisel “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” (Elton John Cover)
5. Koyo “Do You Still Hate Me?” (Jawbreaker Cover)
6. Prince Daddy and the Hyena “You Get What You Give” (New Radicals Cover)
7. The Early November “Bizarre Love Triangle” (New Order Cover)
8. The Seafloor Cinema “Cute Without The ‘E’” (Taking Back Sunday Cover)
9. Belmont “Lying From You” (Linkin Park Cover)
10. Mugshot “Get This” (Slipknot Cover)
11. Action/Adventure “Hanging By A Moment” (Lifehouse Cover)
12. Youth Fountain “Look What Happened” (Less Than Jake Cover)
13. Mint Green “Drive” (Incubus Cover)
14. Sad Park “Sink To The Bottom” (Fountains Of Wayne Cover)
15. The Bouncing Souls  “In The Dark” (Toots And The Maytals Cover)

Pre-orders are now available. Click here to place your order.

Last August, Dead Formats Vol. 1 was released. It showcased bands like Four Year Strong, Drug Church, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Chamber, and State Champs covering songs by popular artists like My Chemical Romance, Blink-182, Rancid, The All-American Rejects, and Descendents.

The Most Anticipated Albums Of 2023 (Part Four)

This is part four of four. If you haven’t read part three yet, check it out here. 

In 2023, we’re getting several great albums some several great bands and artists, but out of all the albums that are coming out this year, these are the ones you need to keep your eyes on. Here are the most anticipated albums of 2023, in no particular order.

The Acacia Strain

Album: Step Into The Light (Rise)

Release Date: 5/12

Bostonian heavy gods The Acacia Strain are bringing the brutality to 2023. Coming mid-May, Step Into The Light is composed of ten songs produced by Randy Leboeuf (Chamber, Every Time I Die, Left Behind) that’ll be sure to kick you on your ass. And if you’re wondering how heavy this record is, check out the song “Fresh Bones,” which Metal Injection bluntly says, it “rips.” Fuck us up, TAS.

nothing,nowhere.

Album: VOID EXTERNAL (Fueled By Ramen)

Release Date: 3/31

Vermont sadboy nothing,nowhere.’s follow-up to 2021’s Trauma Factory is so close, you can almost feel it. Containing various guests like Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, Underoath, Static Dress, Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos, and SeeYouSpaceCowboy, VOID EXTERNAL is destined to be n,n.’s busiest (and most aggressive) album to date. Working with producer Taylor Morgan (guardin, Sickboyrari, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal,) and inviting only a few people into the studio like ex-Counterparts guitarist Blake Hartman, engineer Brody McKeegan, and some personal friends, nothing,nowhere. aka Joe Mulherin wanted this to be an inspirational album. “I want to be what bands like Linkin Park were to me,” Mulherin said. “I want to provide that level of inspiration and comfort and I want to be a safe haven to a kid who is struggling. I made it exactly how I wanted to with zero outside influence. This is the purest expression I could put down in audio form. This is the music that made me, and I want to return the favor.”

Jesus Piece

Album: …So Unknown (Century Media)

Release Date: 4/14

Philly metalcore outfit Jesus Piece are reaching new heights in their career. After spending the first half of their career with LA label Southern Lord (All Pigs Must Die, High Command, Xibalba,) Jesus Piece signed with Century Media Records (3Teeth, Electric Callboy, Lamb Of God) in December, kicking off not only the next chapter of the band’s career, but also their new album cycle. Coming out next month is their long-awaited second LP …So Unknown. Drummer Luis Aponte told BrooklynVegan, “The making of the record was nothing short of all-consuming. It was an intense and challenging process. The record reflects a lot of confusion, but also, evolution. There was a lot of uncertainty and emotion during the pandemic– we all changed and grew so much. So if there is a single thought or concept to the record, it’s constant metamorphosis. That’s also how we operated as a band on this LP– spending a lot of time songwriting and fleshing things out as a unit, and then upping our game from there. It’s definitely a reflection of us as more mature, playing the best we’ve ever played and feeling like a real band for the first time. A big goal on …So Unknown, outside of songwriting and technical goals, was to capture the same energy on record that we have live – for people to get that sense of urgency and danger.”

The Used

Album: Toxic Positivity (Big Noise)

Release Date: 5/19

Just days before taking the stage at last year’s When We Were Young, influential post-hardcore outfit The Used dropped a fiery new track called “Fuck You,” which will appear on their ninth album Toxic Positivity coming out mid-May via Big Noise Music Group (BOXBOY, Escape The Fate, The Veronicas). Months later, they dropped another banger, “People Are Vomit.” Alternative Press had a first look on the new track, calling it “venomous” and that The Used were returning “to their heavier roots in full force, offering a timely critique of the state of the world and the divisive times we are living in.” The album was produced by longtime collaborator John Feldmann (Avril Lavigne, Jasiah, The Word Alive.)

Closure In Moscow

Album: Soft Hell (Self-Released)

Release Date: 5/30

I have had a massive soft spot for Closure In Moscow for many years at this point. The Australian progressive rock act have been keeping themselves kinda quiet since dropping their second album Pink Lemonade in 2014. But now, a new album is on the horizon. Their third album Soft Hell drops May 30. The album has “the last 9 years distilled down to 50 minutes.” CIM says in a statement, “Getting comfortable with chronic discomfort caused by the choices that fears and trauma lead you to make. This is life in a soft hell. There are enough distractions to stave off facing up to it, you can keep yourself in denial to avoid it, and things can just keep ticking along. Life becomes a fever dream of creature comforts and time killers, floating further into a lake of fire. People come along to pull you out, but they too get burned when you feel too stuck to climb with them.”

The Maine

Album: TBA (Photo Finish/8123)

Release Date: TBA

While nothing has been confirmed yet, Arizona’s finest The Maine have been busy putting stuff out. Last year, they dropped the massive collab with Taking Back Sunday and Charlotte Sands “Loved You A Little” and an acoustic ballad called “Box In A Heart” with Canadian bedroom pop artist renforshort. Could these songs appear on a new album? Possibly. Their last record was 2021’s XOXO: From Love And Anxiety In Real Time, which I put as one of the most anticipated albums of 2021.

Sarah And The Safe Word

Album: The Book Of Broken Glass (Take This To Heart)

Release Date: 4/7

One of Atlanta’s most fascinating acts is putting out new material next month. The goth cabaret sextet Sarah And The Safe Word recently announced their next album The Book Of Broken Glass, scheduled to come out April 7 via Take This To Heart (The Higher, Marigold, Thanks! I Hate It.) The album is a story (or a book, per se) dealing with a family’s secret and the ghosts who are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure it stays one. Produced by Jim Wirt (Hoobastank, Jack’s Mannequin, The Rocket Summer,) the album is packed with features, starring rapper Jamee Cornelia, queercore act Dog Park Dissidents, and Danbert Nobacon of Chumbawamba. According to Chorus.fm, Sarah And The Safe Word “embrace the strange and the quirky head on an album that is filled with several twists and turns. Much like the title implies, this book is sure to keep your interest as much as it challenges you to grow with the band.” Also check out the video for “Ruby Off The Rails” which features actual furries.

Avenged Sevenfold

Album: TBA (Warner)

Release Date: TBA

Oh it’s happening people. A7X will drop their long awaited eighth album sometime this year. The album which they began working on in 2018 is finished, according to drummer Brooks Wackerman on his Instagram last September. They have been teasing fans about the record, even telling them to “touch grass” and launched a cryptic scavenger hunt online courtesy of an entity named Libad5343. Guess we can only wait for an official announcement. Time to go outside, I suppose.

Code Orange

Album: TBA (Blue Grape)

Release Date: TBA

While no word has been made on a new record, Pittsburgh industrial metalcore troupe Code Orange have been seen in the studio working with Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. While we wait for that work to come out, the band did drop What Is Really Underneath?, a remixed/re-imagined take on their last record, 2020’s Underneath, along with a 14-minute short film of the same name and an alternate reality game on whatisreallyunderneath.com. An MTV Unplugged-style record called Under The Skin, was released in 2020. This was their final release with Roadrunner Records (Angel Du$t, Motionless In White, Turnstile) before signing with Blue Grape Music, a new label created by Roadrunner founder Cees Wessels and Roadrunner’s former head of A&R David Rath.

Mayday Parade

Album: TBA (Rise)

Release Date: TBA

Late 2000’s pop-punk icons Mayday Parade are currently in the studio right now working on new material. The band posted on social media last month that “new tunes” are being created with longtime producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (Chapel, Go Radio, The Ready Set.) Two songs came out last year, “Thunder” and “Losing My Mind.” Mayday Parade have a busy summer this year, touring alongside All Time Low and Yellowcard, as well as playing the Hawaii Is For Lovers festival with Hawthorne Heights, Emery and Saosin.

Prenatt’s Picks: 100 Artists To Check Out In 2020 (Part 6)

Only four more left.

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 six of ten. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.

Destroy Boys

Hometown: Sacramento, CA

Out Now: Fences – Single (Uncool)

For Fans Of: FIDLAR, Skating Polly, Tacocat

If Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong is a huge fan of your work, then you’re doing everything right. Sacramento punk rockers Destroy Boys are carrying the riot girl banner that was raised back in the 90’s from bands like L7 and Bikini Kill. Influenced by everyone from Operation Ivy to Lady Gaga, the trio write “Tales of misanthropic school days, elitist parties and drunken frat boy shaming barely scratch the surface of the vision into their world.” The trio are signed to Uncool Records, the label created by the band SWMRS, and have done shows with Hobo Johnson & The LoveMakers, The Garden, and PUP. They’ll appearing on this year’s Sad Summer Fest alongside All Time Low, Movements, and The Story So Far.

Song to Listen to: “Fences”

Go For Gold

Hometown: Conway, AR

Out Now: Let Me Go – Single (InVogue)

For Fans Of: In Her Own Words, Like Pacific, Seaway

Who knew that Arkansas could give us something so good? Hailing from Conway, Go For Gold deliver you that classic early 2010’s pop-punk vibe that Warped Tour craved. Amy Albinson from Discovered Magazine said about the band, “Reminiscent of teenage years with a stream of consciousness lyrical style, their energy is infectious as they remain relentlessly hopeful, suggesting that maybe you can just dance all over your problems.” Last year they signed with InVogue Records (Assuming We Survive, Heart To Heart, Secret Eyes) and will drop their new EP Color Me on May 15.

Song to Listen to: “Let Me Go”

Sadfields

Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico

Out Now: Sofocar – Single (Buen Dia)

For Fans Of: A Place To Bury Strangers, Ceremony, Ringo Deathstarr

Sadfields might be making noise in their city of Mexico City and beyond, but in the U.S., we aren’t listening. Let me change that. Influenced by Pornography-era The Cure and A Place To Bury Strangers (who they opened up for once,) alt-noise rock trio Sadgirls have a captivating tone while causing chaos on stage. The three lads — guitarist/vocalist Daniel Espinoza, bassist Miguel Flores and drummer Erick Román — got together in the fall of 2015 and have been rocking out since. Their lyrics are emotionally packed and their noise evokes discordance and beauty. If you like bands such as The Cure and Ride, you’ll love Sadfields.

Song to Listen to: “Sofocar”

Peach Pit

Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Out Now: Shampoo Bottles – Single (Columbia)

For Fans Of: Beach Bunny, Declan McKenna, Slaughter Beach, Dog

This isn’t bubblegum pop, it’s chewed bubblegum pop. That’s what indie pop quartet Peach Pit call themselves. The Canadian band formed in 2014 when lead vocalist/guitarist Neil Smith and lead guitarist Chris Vanderkooy, who were friends in high school, decided to work on a musical project together. They then added bassist Peter Wilton and drummer Mikey Pascuzzi shortly afterwards. Peach Pit first got some recognition when their self-titled single went viral in 2016. Since then, they’ve released several singles, one EP, and two full-length records, their newest one You And Your Friends comes out April 16 via Columbia Records (645AR, Blink-182, Foster The People.) Speaking of You And Your Friends, the album was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer John Congleton (Best Coast, Explosions In The Sky, Kimbra.) They’re embarking on a North American tour next month with Sun Seeker and Hailey Blais.

Song to Listen to: “Black Licorice”

Lyon Estates

Hometown: Selby, North Yorkshire, UK

Out Now: Welcome To The Family – EP (Side Mission)

For Fans Of: Man Overboard, The Starting Line, WSTR

Named after the subdivision that Marty McFly lives in in the Back To The Future series, Lyon Estates are a pop-punk band who love pop culture. With songs named after references from The Simpsons and Back To The Future, their loves knows no bounds. “Lyon Estates came together as a bunch of friends who all lived in the same dreary northern town,” bassist Rich Harrison told Discovered Magazine.  “We didn’t really have any sort of plans except to just jam out some songs and play a few hometown shows.” Not only do they love pop culture, they also love charity. In 2018, they raised money for Safe Gigs For Women and Independent Domestic Abuse Services by creating a tee with 100% of the profits split between the both of them. They’ve done shows with This Time Next Year, Calling All Captains, Room 94, Woes, and MxPx. Lyon Estates dropped their new EP Welcome To The Family last October.

Song to Listen to: “Hokitika”

Chamber

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Out Now: Ripping/Pulling/Tearing (Pure Noise)

For Fans Of: Disembodied, Sanction, Zao

Nashville’s Chamber are “one of the most technically pugnacious hardcore bands around.” That’s what Revolver called them. Formed in 2017, the quintet have been hitting hard, even with some roadblocks (the band parted ways with ex-vocalist Sam Fleming who now fronts Incendiary.) They dropped their debut Ripping/Pulling/Tearing last year on Pure Noise Records (The Amity Affliction, First Blood, Reggie And The Full Effect.) Chamber have toured with The Acacia Strain, Counterparts, Gideon, Old Wounds, and Year Of The Knife. If you’re looking for something heavy to get you out of your self-quarantine rut or just need a band that reminds you of Zao, listen to Chamber.

Song to Listen to: “Replacing Every Weakness”

Sleep Token

Hometown: London, UK

Out Now: Sundowning (Spinefarm)

For Fans Of: The Contortionist, Thomas Giles, Hozier

It’s time for worship. Sleep Token are an anonymous band who’s names are not important for us to know of, except vocalist Vessel. His haunting, powerful voice helps spread the band’s message of reintroducing the world to the forgotten god known as “Sleep.” The god is crudely called that because modern tongues cannot pronounce his name. While they’re known in the UK, it’s time for us to be woke to their beauty and message. Worship with us. Later this summer they’ll appear at festivals like Mad Cool, Sunstroke, and Download.

Song to Listen to: “The Offering”

Fate’s Got A Driver

Hometown: Amityville, NY

Out Now: Fate’s Got A Driver – EP (Self-Released)

For Fans Of: Glassjaw, Lifetime, Texas Is The Reason

Does Fate’s Got A Driver’s guitarist look familiar? That’s because it’s Taking Back Sunday’s former guitarist Eddie Reyes. Formed in 2018, FGAD sound like a darker TBS, heading towards a Deftones-ish style. They dropped their self-titled EP last November. Expect more from them later this year.

Song to Listen to: “Pennies”

guardin

Hometown: Hornell, NY

Out Now: creature, Pt. 2 (Photo Finish)

For Fans Of: guccihighwaters, Fats’e, Lil Peep

guardin is the genre-bending emo-rap project hailing from the mind of Western New Yorker Nicholas Kerr. Signed to Photo Finish Records, the label that once housed 3OH!3 and MisterWives, guardin creates music for everyone. He’s already gained success with touring with gnash and Mallrat and having his music appear on Alternative Press. Music was a major part of his life, starting music at an early age, picking up the guitar at 9. He then dabbled with piano and drums, wearing out the heads after owning a kit for two years. At 12, he began writing songs with his acoustic guitar, and it all spiraled right there. “I usually record a handful of freestyled melodies over a beat to figure out a base structure, and use that to help me craft sort of a walking stick for my writing,” guardin said in a press release. “I’ll usually write a hook and a verse, and then come back to it later once my mind is in a new place so my verses feel welldifferentiated. From there, I add in separate layers such as ad libs or backing vocals to really fill it out and bring the track to life.” He’s doing a show with guccihighwaters in May.

Song to Listen to: “i think you’re really cool”

Stepson

Hometown: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Out Now: Run – Single (SharpTone)

For Fans Of: Counterparts, Stick To Your Guns, early Trophy Eyes

Freshly signed to SharpTone Records (Broadside, Holding Absence, Miss May I) are these Aussies who pack quite a punch. Stepson began all the way back in 2014, showing their country how hard they can really go. Now it’s time for the world to know of Stepson. So far the band have dropped two EPs and several singles, their newest track “Run” came out on March 20. They’ve toured with Polaris, Stray Form The Path, Trash Talk, While She Sleeps, and The Brave. Look out world, here comes your favorite Stepson.

Song to Listen to: “Run”

Come back next week for more artists!

 

Mundy’s Bay’s Debut Full-Length Is A Smash Hit

Looking for a catchy album to play while you’re in self-quarantine? Venture no further than Mundy’s Bay’s debut record Lonesome Valley.

Having a nostalgic sound, Lonesome Valley is a perfect record from an underrated band. The Québec-based fearless foursome have a vintage shoegazing sound ripped straight out of the late 80’s/early 90’s.

Vocalist/keyboardist Esther Mulders, guitarists John Donnellyand Victor Beaudoin, and bassist Will Love first got together through their local punk and hardcore scenes. Using what they learned from there, the quartet created something that mixes both scenes with the beauty and haunting melodies of shoegazing, dream pop, and some good old post-punk. And those results can be heard clearly on this release.

Released on Pure Noise Records (Chamber, The Story So Far, Violent Soho,) the band create magic over a span of 40 minutes. Mundy’s Bay blend in elements found in Alvvays and The xx with what they’ve learned from being in the previously mentioned scenes. Evidence of that can be found in tracks like the post-punk head bobber “Heaven’s Close” and “Wash Over Me,” one of the heaviest songs off of Lonesome Valley.

Each track off the record shines bright. It’s hard to even pick favorites out of the 11 tracks. From the album’s opener “Goodbye” to its somber ending “J’ai tout perdu,” every song is a smash hit. 

What more can I say except get this record now.