Prenatt’s Picks: 100 Artists To Check Out In 2020 (Part 9)

Yeah yeah, it’s been some time. A thousand apologies. Got distracted with life, the fear of COVID-19, and Animal Crossing. But we got one more left after this!

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

Bilmuri

Hometown: Columbus, OH

Out Now: Muri And Friends (Self-Released)

For Fans Of: Belmont, I The Mighty, Royal Coda

In the late 2000s, Johnny Franck and his band Attack Attack! made waves across the scene with their beloved debut album Someday Came Suddenly and their self-titled record in 2010. He then left the group that same year to focus on his relationship with God. And all that time with God caused him to create Bilmuri (yes, based on the actor’s name,) a funky post-hardcore band that will make you head bang while twerking. Soft yet funky, Bilmuri allows Franck to soar higher than ever before. He’s worked with acts and artists like No Dice, Tilian of Dance Gavin Dance (he would later appear on DGD’s new album Afterburner,) Surf Team, Dayseeker, and former Attack Attack! and current Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo (the feature is killer.) So if you like funky rhythms and shitposting, Bilmuri’s for you.

Song to Listen to: “BRUH.MP4”

DREGG

Hometown: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Out Now: Tu Track – Single (Epitaph)

For Fans Of: Hatebreed, Limp Bizkit, System Of A Down

“Imagine Eminem, fronting Mr. Bungle, while sipping absinthe, after an Oscar Wilde binge. Or Hatebreed, covering the Wu-Tang Clan, inside an art installation, curated by Andy Warhol’s ghost.” Just reading that gives you a clear look on what hardcore act DREGG are. The Australian fivesome have the swagger of a rapper, colorful clothes, and disturbing tones. As the band put it, “Privacy is becoming very rare in this modern world, and that drives people to hide who they really are. Each band member’s on-stage persona is an extension of their inner selves—the person the outside world doesn’t allow them to be.” Well that explains the masks and warpaint. They’ve done shows with Alpha Wolf, Hellions, Counterparts, Deez Nuts, and Knocked Loose. DREGG recently signed with American punk label Epitaph Records (The All-American Rejects, Fake Names, Smrtdeath) and dropped a two-track single titled Tu Track back in late April.

Song to Listen to: “HECTIC”

Lilac Queen

Hometown: Wakefield, MA

Out Now: If Only – EP (No Sleep)

For Fans Of: My Bloody Valentine, Swirlies, Title Fight

Named after a song by mewithoutYou, Massachusetts post-shoegaze quintet Lilac Queen might become the next big thing in the genre. Formed in late 2019, Lilac Queen —vocalist/guitarist Lily St. Germain, guitarist/vocalist Doug DeMars, lead guitarist Colin McGovern, bassist Billy Davis and drummer Jesse Porter — are slowly moving up in the music world, having signed to No Sleep Records (Best Ex, Gatherers, Worst Party Ever) in April. As Thisfunktional put it, Lilac Queen’s “wall-of-sound rhythm section juxtaposed with writhing guitar leadwork creates an atmospheric onslaught that does not beg but demands the listener’s attention.” They’ll be performing at The Fest in Gainesville, Fla., later this year alongside Hot Water Music, Broadway Calls, and current Prenatt’s Picks list band Mush.

Song to Listen to: “Ouch”

Wristmeetrazor

Hometown: Washington, D.C.

Out Now: Take Your Shot, Funboy – Single (Prosthetic)

For Fans Of: Ostraca, Portrayal Of Guilt, SeeYouSpaceCowboy

With a name like that they have to be heavy as fuck. D.C.’s Wristmeetrazor (named after the Usurp Synapse song) first began as a solo project for guitarist Jonah Thorne until he found bassist Justin Fornof and drummer Zach Wilbourn (who was replaced by SeeYouSpaceCowboy’s drummer Bryan Prosser in 2018) and added them in. The lineup soon became a quartet with the inclusion of second guitarist Tyler Norris a year later. As the group put it in their own words, “Bore of our own necessity. Wristmeetrazor exists as a monument to the space between sanity and self-destruction. Happiness. Sadness. Life. Death.” They’ve done shows with Terror, Dying Wish, Lowered A.D., Sharptooth, and Exit Strategy. Because of COVID-19, their tour with Trench and Stepping Stone will not be taking place. Support them and buy some merch.

Song to Listen to: “Loathsome”

I Met A Yeti

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Out Now: Camp Yeti – EP (Self-Released)

For Fans Of: Hail The Sun, A Lot Like Birds, Sianvar

Cool name. Orlando based swancore/post-hardcore quintet I Met A Yeti are as fun as their name sounds. And just like a yeti, they’re mysterious and way beyond powerful. They’re one of the most underrated groups in the swancore genre, and that’s a damn shame. Since we’re all under quarantine, check them out. The band have done shows with Strawberry Girls, Tiny Moving Parts, Eidola, I Set My Friends On Fire, and Being As An Ocean. They just wrapped up a tour in March, minus cancelling the final date due to corona.

Song to Listen to: “Blue-Eyes White Yeti”

Manuel The Band

Hometown: Long Beach, CA

Out Now: Room For Complication – EP (Monte Bre)

For Fans Of: Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Train

Hailing from Frank Ocean and Snoop Dogg’s hometown, rock-jazz-Americana group Manuel The Band are making waves in their corner of the country. The band started releasing music in 2018, and it’s been nothing but good vibes for the sextet. So far, they’ve played at the Music Tastes Good festival with New Order, Santigold, and Princess Nokia, dropped one EP and a new song written during quarantine, and were nominated for Best Album at the Independent Music Awards. Seems like it’s finally time for these West Coast boys to take flight and travel the country.

Song to Listen to: “Casual Love”

SadGirl

Hometown: Los Angeles CA

Out Now: Water (Suicide Squeeze)

For Fans Of: The Buttertones, Froth, Surf Curse

Inspired by rock ‘n’ roll from the ’50s and ’60s swing, LA’s surf punks SadGirl have a sound like no other. Their music sounds like the love child of David Bowie and Buddy Holly, which is odd since they first started off doing Nirvana and Sublime covers. Frontman Misha Lindes later shifted that grungy sound to the early rock music he grew up listening to. “For some reason, I always have had some fantasy about what my dad’s childhood was like growing up in early 60s America: big cars, guitar music, and The Beatles on the radio,” Misha told Vice back in 2016, stating that the Crybaby soundtrack “really changed my musical perspective in some way, too.” SadGirl have done shows with The Garden, Chicano Batman, and SWMRS.

Song to Listen to: “Chlorine”

Casa Loma

Hometown: Williamstown, NJ

Out Now: This Is Coping – EP (Pure Noise)

For Fans Of: …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Foxwarren, Nada Surf

Nik Bruzzese is no stranger to the music scene. He’s the frontman for one of the most beloved and influential pop punk bands of the past decade: Man Overboard. But with his solo project Casa Loma, Bruzzese steps into a new, softer, heavily emotional sound, reminiscing of Andy Shauf and Leif Vollebekk (well, Man Overboard had emotional songs, but Casa Loma goes harder than that.) When Transit/Cold Collective member Tim Landers passed away in early 2019, Bruzzese took the news hard. Going into recluse, he created the songs that would make up his debut EP This Is Coping, coming out June 5 on Pure Noise Records (The Amity Affliction, LURK, Same Side.) As a press release points out, “Despite the gravity of the subject matter, Nik is quick to point out that Casa Loma isn’t all doom and gloom. A hopeful optimism permeates the contemplative compositions, with a reassurance to keep going.”

Song to Listen to: “Famaglia”

Bamily

Hometown: London, UK

Out Now: Family With A B – EP (Self-Released)

For Fans Of: Friendly Fires, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club

Welcome to the Bamily. English indie darlings Bamily are all about that Bamily life, pun totally intended. Combining indie pop with the powers of EDM, disco, hip-hop, and soul, these lads are in a league of their own. They even DJ during their sets. As SubmitHub puts it, “Opening a world of sample heavy beats over luscious pad sounds and percussion, the band reimagine traditional pop song structures passing melodies between their two lead singers and a hefty backing vocal.” Currently they have over 90.8k monthly listeners on Spotify. Oh, and their cover of Tyler, The Creator’s “EARFQUAKE” slaps hard.

Song to Listen to: “Outro”

Dead Lakes

Hometown: Seattle, WA

Out Now: New Language – EP (SharpTone)

For Fans Of: Awaken I Am, Bring Me The Horizon, PVRIS

Formed in 2017, Seattle’s Dead Lakes blend the worlds of pop and screamo perfectly together. Their label SharpTone Records (Broadside, Kingdom Of Giants, The Wise Man’s Fear) says, “Dead Lakes make music for anyone who feels the sting of broken connections, failed relationships, and challenging circumstances, yet nevertheless will muster the strength and hope to carry onward.” They just might become the new Sleeping With Sirens. Definitely keep these guys on your radar.

Song to Listen to: “SMS Happiness”

Come back next week for the final artists of 2020!

Courtney Love, Soccer Mommy, The Aubreys, More To Appear On “The Turning” Soundtrack

Who knew that horror and alternative went hand in hand?

The soundtrack to the upcoming horror movie The Turning, based on the classic novella The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James, is packed with tons of great songs. Artists and bands like Courtney Love, Alice Glass, Cherry Glazerr, Soccer Mommy, and Warpaint, will appear with new and old material.

Also featured on the soundtrack is The Aubreys, the new band from ex-Calpurnia frontman Finn Wolfhard. He stars in the film alongside Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2049, The Martian, Smashed,) Brooklynn Prince (The Angry Birds Movie 2, The Florida Project, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part,) and Joely Richardson (101 Dalmatians, Event Horizon, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.) This is his first track with his new band after putting Calpurnia to rest a few weeks ago.

Check out the track listing below.

1. Courtney Love – Mother
2. Mitski – Cop Car
3. Soccer Mommy – Feed
4. girl in red – Kate’s Not Here
5. Lawrence Rothman – SkindeepSkyhighHeartwide (feat. Pale Waves)
6. Empress Of – Call Me
7. Vagabon – The Wild
8. The Aubreys – Getting Better (otherwise)
9. Cherry Glazerr – Womb
10. Warpaint – The Brakes
11. Lawrence Rothman – Crust(neverreallyknewyou)
12. Lawrence Rothman & MUNA – Judas Kiss
13. Kali Uchis – The Turn
14. Alice Glass – Sleep It Off
15. Dani Miller (of Surfbort) – Ouroboros
16. Alison Mosshart (of The Kills) – I Don’t Know
17. Living Things – Take No Prisoners (feat. Sunflower Bean)
18. Lawrence Rothman – Crust
19. Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth) – Silver

The Turning is directed by Floria Sigismondi, the same director behind the biopic The Runaways which was based on the band of the same name. She also worked on music videos for artists like Marilyn Manson, Interpol, Björk, Katy Perry, and David Bowie.

The Turning comes out January 24, 2020.

Creeper Announce First Show Back Under Apparent New Name

For the first time in over a year, Creeper are back.

The British horror rock group are returning to the stage exactly a year since they “broke up.” So it was a Bowie move after all. After teasing fans with creepy videos and a mysterious tweet, Creeper will be playing again.

The intimate show will take place Friday, November 1, at Club 229, in London. You can buy tickets here.

What’s fascinating about this is that Creeper won’t be playing under the name Creeper. Instead, they’re performing as Fugitives Of Heaven. No word yet if Fugitives Of Heaven is their new name, but it is their Twitter name at the moment.

Creeper’s last album was Eternity, In Your Arms which came out in 2017 on Roadrunner Records (Angel Du$t, Motionless In White, Slipknot).

Oh God, Here’s 20 More Of The Weirdest Covers Ever Recorded (Part One)

I never planned on making this. There was never supposed to be a third list, but here we are. I stumbled onto a cover that mewithoutYou did and then I fell into a rabbit hole of bizarre covers, and here we are again.

Pray that I don’t make a fourth list.

As I mentioned prior in my other lists, “I have to inform you that the songs on this list are covers that were recorded for a compilation, an album, or as a single. There will be no live covers on this list.” Who knows if I’ll ever do a list for strange live covers.

Before I start, I would like to thank the people in Midwest Emoposting on Facebook for helping me find some songs to put on this list.

Well, here we go. This is part one.

1. mewithoutYou – In Bloom (Originally by Nirvana)

Nirvana are one of the most influential bands from the 90s. With that being said, numerous artists have covered their songs. Case in point, “In Bloom” from their sophomore record Nevermind. That track has been covered by several artists and bands such as Four Year Strong, Torche, Sturgill Simpson, Hooverphonic, and So They Say. But when mewithoutYou covered it for Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’, every other cover got blown out of the water. The simplistic take by mewithoutYou features an acoustic guitar, a kick drum, an accordion, an electric guitar, and Aaron Weiss’s haunting vocals. It just doesn’t sound like how you would expect “In Bloom” to sound like. mewithoutYou were able to transform this song into one of their own, and that’s impressive. Also this album features covers done by Civil Twilight, Hawthorne Heights, Story Of The Year, Finger Eleven, and Anthony Raneri of Bayside.

2. Roses & Revolutions – Sugar, We’re Goin Down (Originally by Fall Out Boy)

I found out about this cover from an unlikely source: my mom. She showed me this cover that apparently played on her Sirius XM radio and I had to look it up. Glad I did. This haunting acoustic version from this indie duo from Rochester is beautiful and bizarre at the same team. Alyssa Coco’s vocals are soft and fit well with guitarist Matt Merritt’s equally soft strumming, turning this pop-punk classic into something you’d hear in a Starbucks.

3. New Breed – Raise Your Glass (Originally by P!nk)

I’ve talked about the Japanese Punk Goes Pop albums before, and they’re either hits or misses. Mostly misses. This is one of those misses. The Japanese screamo act New Breed butcher the fuck out of P!nk’s party jam “Raise Your Glass”. There has to be a rule for having way too much blast beats in your song. It’s just a messy cover that never seems to calm down and needs some adderall to relax. Overall it’s a hot mess. Dear lord.

4. Clivillés & Cole – Pride (In The Name Of Love) (Originally by U2)

Oh fuck. I’ve dreaded talking about this cover. Clivillés & Cole, who would later become C+C Music Factory (you know, these guys), covered this song by U2 for the movie Gladiator (no, not the Russell Crowe film, this one). It’s a horrible techno version that stretches out the track from the original 3:48 minutes to nearly eight minutes. That’s almost double the original version. For your safety, avoid this track like the plague.

5. Everclear – I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Originally by Death Cab For Cutie)

Why? On their greatest hits album, 90s punk rock band Everclear ruined the sacred acoustic song “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie by making it a punk track. No, fucking no. Oh, and that’s not the only cover on that album. They also did “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. Also, I’ve been meaning to put this cover on the previous lists but I kept forgetting. Or maybe it was subconscious trying to save me from making the world remember this cover.

6. Wind Rose – Diggy Diggy Hole (Originally by Yogscast)

To quote iiZach Gaming, “From a Minecraft clip… to a fan made song… to an official song… to a metal version of the song. Wow.” “Diggy Diggy Hole” originated as a joke from Yogscast, then it became a song made by a fan, then a real song by Yogscast, and then redone by a fucking metal band. Many were shocked when Italian folk metal group Wind Rose made their own version of this song. The band explained why they did this, saying, “Mining is one of the most important activities for a Dwarf, naturally Wind Rose needed a theme song for this great honor of collecting these jewels from the soil, so sing with us with pride!!” I honestly have no idea what to say. Dig on.

7. Act As If – Pathetic (Originally by Blink-182)

What if Coldplay wrote “Pathetic” instead of Blink-182? That’s what indie pop group Act As If answered back in 2011 with their lovely rendition. The fast punk track gets redone as a beautiful, heartfelt pop song. Peter Verdell’s vocals are so soothing while backed over a gentle guitar strumming, Sara Lindsay’s voice, and a xylophone. It even got Mark Hoppus’s seal of approval when he shared it on his Facebook page.

8. Hidden In Plain View – Mr. Jones (Originally by Counting Crows)

In 2004, indie label Vinyl Summer Recordings released a tribute album called Dead And Dreaming: An Indie Tribute To Counting Crows. On it, bands like The Rocket Summer, Between The Buried And Me, Punchline, Houston Calls, and The Junior Varsity, covered their favorite songs by Counting Crows. The odd one that takes the cake has to be Hidden In Plain View’s rendition of “Mr. Jones”. The emo act add electronic elements and some autotune into their version. It would be a good cover if it weren’t for the autotune. And if you’re wanting to buy this album, it’s incredibly rare. You can purchase it here.

9. Biffy Clyro – Modern Love (Originally by David Bowie)

One listen to this cover and you’ll say, “That’s supposed to be a Bowie song?” When Howard Stern recruited several musicians for his tribute called The Howard Stern Tribute to David Bowie. It featured 25 musicians like Greta Van Fleet, The Struts, Car Seat Headrest, Lisa Loeb, and Garbage, paying tribute to the legendary British musician. Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro go all out on their take of “Modern Love”, making it sound unrecognizable. The screams, jangly guitar parts, and heaviness of the cover are eyeopening, and it’s a beautiful tribute to the late Bowie.

10. Skip The Foreplay – Champagne Showers (Originally by LMFAO)

Remember when every metalcore band covered a pop song? I do. Back in 2011, Quebec based trancecore group Skip The Foreplay covered LMFAO’s “Champagne Showers”, being a minor hit for the group. It had over a million views on YouTube and was included on their only album Nightlife, which Epitaph Records (The All-American Rejects, Mannequin Pussy, Quicksand) released. Oh, and this cover was the reason they got to tour with Lamb Of God, We Came As Romans, blessthefall, Falling In Reverse, and Abandon All Ships, plus an appearance on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour with Tonight Alive, Hostage Calm, and Impending Doom. If you’re curious about where they are now, they went defunct in 2014 and renamed themselves Now And On Earth. They went defunct again in 2015.

Part two will be posted later.