Two more weeks.
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 eight of ten. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.
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Dogleg
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Out Now: Melee (Triple Crown)
For Fans Of: Audio Karate, Heart Attack Man, Title Fight
Known for their wild and fun live shows, Detroit emo heartthrobs Dogleg are quickly making a name for themselves. Dogleg — vocalist/guitarist Alex Stoitsiadis, guitarist Parker Grissom, bassist Chase Macinski, and drummer Jacob Hanlon — got together in 2015 to create music for the sole purpose of “punch-dancing out our rage.” Catchy, fun, and full of energy, Dogleg’s material hits hard and will leave you feeling the the affect way later on. For example, their debut record Melee is a modern emo masterpiece, getting an 8.6 out of 10 from Pitchfork. The band have done tours with Worst Party Ever, Glass Beach, Seaholm, Monika, and Weldam, and played festivals like Bled Fest 2018 (Foxing, Norma Jean, Remo Drive) and the Excellency Music Festival 2019 (Car Crash Rhetoric, Jetty Bones, Rarity.) Oh, and if you beat Macinski at a game of Super Smash Bros. on a Nintendo 64 emulator on their merch table, you can win a free shirt. He hasn’t lost yet, but who knows reader, maybe you will be the person to break his winning streak and get that victory shirt. Wear that shit with pride.
Song to Listen to: “Kawasaki Backflip”
Innerlove.
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Out Now: Fine By Me – EP (Know Hope)
For Fans Of: All Get Out, The Hotelier, Weatherbox
When Long Island collective Table Talk ended in 2019, vocalist/guitarist Ryan O’Rourke and drummer Jon Argondizza wanted to branch into different directions musically. And thus, Innerlove. was born. Recruiting bassist Dan Sandoval and guitarist Joe Rom, the New York emo quartet began writing songs “with the intention of communicating feelings of hopefulness and self perseverance.” And in these trying times, we need songs like that. So far in their short career, they’ve done shows with Laura Stevenson, Vinnie Caruana, The Sidekicks, Worst Party Ever, and the next band on our list. Let’s move onto them now, shall we?
Song to Listen to: “Enough”
twentythreenineteen
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Out Now: XXIIIXIX (Know Hope)
For Fans Of: Death Cab For Cutie, Have Mercy, Jimmy Eat World
Philly’s twentythreenineteen are hard to describe. One second, they’re playing indie tracks, and the next, they dive into emo, pop-punk, and acoustic rock that’s borderline Dashboard Confessional. Named after a reference found in the animated classic Monsters Inc., twentythreenineteen (sometimes written out as XXIIIXIX, which is also the name of their debut album) are one of the most unique sounding bands on the list. Simply put, they’re in a completely different genre on their own, feeling like a Frankenstein’s monster created from acts like The Naked And Famous, Pentimento, and Bright Eyes. No matter what they sound like, there’s a song of theirs that I’m sure you’ll like. XXIIIXIX have done shows with Varials, Sleep In., Rich People, Nonfiction, and the previous band on this list (see above.) So if you like indie music, strange sounding bands, or Monsters Inc., then XXIIIXIX are the band for you.
Song to Listen to: “You”
Mush
Hometown: Chicago, IL and Grand Rapids, MI
Out Now: Thank You, We’re Mush (Skeletal Lightning)
For Fans Of: Dowsing, Pet Symmetry, Saves The Day
The members of pop band Mush are separated by one of the Great Lakes. Hailing from Grand Rapids and Chicago, the five-piece pop band craft some pretty fun, off-kilter jams that will make you reminisce old school Vagrant Records (think The Get Up Kids/Reggie And The Full Effect era.) It’s fun music made by fun guys for fun people. What’s else to say? They’ve performed with Good Brother, Telethon, and Giants Chair, and were at The Fest last year with Against Me!, Jawbreaker, and Less Than Jake. Check out Mush and you’ll have one hell of a fun time.
Song to Listen to: “Shirt”
Roses & Revolutions
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Out Now: i don’t have feelings anymore – Single (Nettwerk)
For Fans Of: Bishop Briggs, K.Flay, VÉRITÉ
It’s not everyday that you can say you discovered an artist from your mom. That’s what happened to me last year when she showed me an acoustic rendition of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Rochester indie pop natives Roses & Revolutions. Since then my eyes have been glued on the duo. As haunting as they are catchy, R&R have been one of the most underrated indie pop acts in the country. Still, that hasn’t stopped them from touring with big acts like Run River North, K.Flay, VÉRITÉ, Gin Wigmore (who’s married to Jason Aalon Butler of letlive. and FEVER 333,) and Daughtry. And their music has appeared in shows like black-ish, The Village, and Teen Mom OG.
Song to Listen to: “i don’t have feelings anymore”
Fake Names
Hometown: Washington, D.C. and Umeå, Sweden
Out Now: Brick – Single (Epitaph)
For Fans Of: All, Dag Nasty, Naked Raygun
Fake Names is the newest supergroup on the block. Made up of members of Bad Religion, State Of Alert, Girls Against Boys, Holy Fuck (touring drummer,) and Refused, Fake Names play old school punk rock for those who wanna relive the good old days of the ’80s and early ’90s. Led by Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén, their music sounds like Dischord Records’s entire discography. Their debut record Fake Names comes out May 8 on Epitaph Records (Early Eyes, The Lawrence Arms, Smrtdeath.)
Song to Listen to: “Brick”
The Abruptors
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Out Now: Love And Other Disasters (Asian Man)
For Fans Of: Deal’s Gone Bad, Madness, The Toasters
The first time I ever saw or heard of the ska/soul/reggae/rocksteady septet The Abruptors was at an unlikely place: UBCon. No, they weren’t performing, two members were helping out a vendor sell handmade Pokéballs filled with Pokémon in tiny environments (mine had Pikachu in it.) They formed back in 2015, but their story all began years prior when half of the group left their old band The B-Side Bastards to create more traditional, rocksteady music. The Abruptors have done shows with Mustard Plug, The Aggrolites, Big D And The Kids Table, The Living End, and Mephiskapheles. They were scheduled to perform at Pouzza Fest in Montreal this May, but with COVID-19 running rampant, the festival has been postponed to next May. No word yet if they’re still playing.
Song to Listen to: “With My Luck”
Nudie Mag
Hometown: Pasadena, CA
Out Now: Our Milk (Triple B)
For Fans Of: Drug Church, Pity Sex, Weezer
Cali dream rockers Nudie Mag are doing things they’ve never done before. Well, one of them, technically. Twitching Tongues frontman and God’s Hate guitarist Colin Young trades in his dark, heavy sound for something more upbeat and poppy, think of a mixture of Culture Abuse and Weezer. Stereogum said that “Nudie Mag make sparkling, beyond-catchy power pop; it’s not a reach to say that the songs on [Demo 2019] would’ve fit right at home on the first Rentals album. You might be able to hear a bit of evidence of the band’s hardcore connections in their guitar tones.” Little is known about the band since their formation last year, but what we do know is that their tunes are a good time.
Song to Listen to: “Please Be The One”
Charmer
Hometown: Marquette, MI
Out Now: Ivy (No Sleep)
For Fans Of: Hot Mulligan, Pictures Of Vernon, Somos
Meet “Emo’s Next Cult Act.” Michigan’s Charmer are currently riding high with their sophomore record Ivy, now out on No Sleep Records (Good Sleepy, Middle Distance, Stay Inside.) But that could’ve all changed a couple of years ago when vocalist/guitarst David Daignault thought about leaving. That’s when Modern Baseball changed his mind. “Before we signed with No Sleep I was originally ready to move on from the band and start pursuing other interests but we definitely wanted to record and release all the material we had laying around, we were really proud of the songs,” Daignault told Punk Rock Theory. “I emailed [Modern Baseball guitarist/vocalist] Jake [Ewald] on a whim because their music was a big reason I was inspired to write myself. The No Sleep thing happened and we ended up writing a completely new set of songs, drove 18 hours to Philadelphia and stayed for a week tracking it all. I learned a lot from watching Jake during that time and he helped guide us through the process making it a super relaxed recording experience.” Since then, it’s been the best decision he never made. The band have done shows with Free Throw, Kittyhawk, Hot Mulligan, Dowsing, and Pinegrove. Say hello to the new faces of emo.
Song to Listen to: “VCR 666”
Yours Truly
Hometown: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Out Now: Afterglow – EP (UNFD)
For Fans Of: Eat Your Heart Out, Paramore, Stand Atlantic
Yours Truly have everything they need to become Australia’s next breakthrough act. But don’t take my word for it, take The Noise‘s who claimed these Aussie pop-punkers have “the makings to be the next pop-punk breakout act similar to fellow Australians Stand Atlantic.” Just one listen to their second EP Afterglow and you’ll be hooked. Frontwoman Mikaila Delgado’s voice echoes old school Paramore. They’ve toured with Hellions, Senses Fail, The Faim, State Champs, and Tonight Alive, and attended festivals like Riot Fest 2019 (American Football, The Flaming Lips, Slayer,) Unify Gathering 2019 (Every Time I Die, Pagan, Taking Back Sunday,) and Good Things 2019 (A Day To Remember, Ice Nine Kills, Poppy.) They will be performing at Sad Summer Fest (All Time Low, Destroy Boys, Movements) and Slam Dunk (Basement, Sum 41, We Are The In Crowd) this year, well that is if Sad Summer Fest doesn’t get cancelled due to COVID-19.
Song to Listen to: “I Can’t Feel”
Come back next week for more artists!
Punk Goes Prenatt 