Here we go, part two baby.
It’s that time again! Here at Punk Goes Prenatt, for the next five weeks, we’ll give you 50 artists that you need to tune your attention to throughout 2019. Spanning artists in genres like rap, pop-punk, electronic, post-hardcore, rock, and acoustic, Prenatt’s Picks will show you the finest acts to check out.
This is part two of five. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.
Without further delay, let’s start the list!
itoldyouiwouldeatyou
Hometown: London, UK
Out Now: Oh Dearism (Alcopop!/Failure By Design/Beth Shalom)
For Fans Of: Pianos Become The Teeth, Taking Back Sunday, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
If you weren’t aware, I’m a sucker for bands with long or odd names. Case in point: London’s emo/indie-punk septet itoldyouiwouldeatyou checks off both boxes for me. The band breathe new life into the emo genre, doing things the genre hasn’t seen since Panic! At The Disco came into our lives in 2005. The septet are here to help queer people find themselves in this world (four of the seven members identify as they/them). As vocalist Joey Ashworth told NME, “Emo is a nasty genre. t’s an untrustworthy part of music history. But the way it was marketed means that a lot of kids who were queer, or other marginalised demographics, needed it to move forward. I see no reason why we can’t take those positive aspects, and cut the negative out, right now.” The emo septet’s debut Oh Dearism came out last year and was called “a solid debut for this upcoming emo troupe” by Discovered Magazine. The band have played shows with Jordaan Mason, Dikembe, and Delta Sleep, and will be touring with Hellogoodbye in May. They’ll also be performing at 2000trees Festival with As It Is, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, and Drug Church on Friday, July 12.
Song to Listen to: “Young American”
Winski
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Out Now: Enola. – EP (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Just Surrender, The Spill Canvas, Yellowcard
Local pop-punk group Winski have successfully taken over the Western New York area. Now, they’re setting their sites for the rest of the world. The quartet have had numerous lineup changes since vocalist/guitarist Ed Slowinski (see where the name comes from?) turned his solo project into a band, currently consisting of guitarist Jason Arenos and drummer Joe Musial. Winski dropped their latest EP Enola. back in May 2018. They’ve done shows with SayWeCanFly, ASHES, Landon Tewers of The Plot In You, Metro Station, and I See Stars, as well as selling out several shows in the Queen City. As the band simply puts it, “nothing will stop Winski.”
Song to Listen to: “Bubblegum”
Year Of The Knife
Hometown: Newark, DE
Out Now: Ultimate Aggression (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: Harm’s Way, Jesus Piece, Vein
Pure Noise Records (Bearings, Hawthorne Heights, Less Than Jake) are well known for signing some heavy hitters. For example, the label’s home to First Blood, Rotting Out, Left Behind, Counterparts, and Sharptooth, a former Prenatt’s Picks artist. Now, they have Delaware straight edge group Year Of The Knife, a band who’ll kick your ass with their brutal, shredding riffs. YOTK formed in 2015 and consist of vocalist Tyler Mullen, guitarist Brandon Watkins, bassist Madison “Madi” Watkins (married to Brandon), and twin brothers drummer Andrew Kisielewski and guitarist Aaron Kisielewski. The hardcore group have toured with The Acacia Strain, Terror, Jesus Piece, Knocked Loose, and Backtrack, and have played shows with Eighteen Visions, Code Orange, Vein, Sanction, and Microwave. They’ve so far released three EPs, with two of them being released last year. The quintet’s new album Ultimate Aggression dropped in February.
Song to Listen to: “Fatal”
Calling All Captains
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Out Now: Nothing Grows Here – EP (Equal Vision)
For Fans Of: Carousel Kings, Like Pacific, Sleep On It
Let’s quote their Facebook. “Calling All Captains burst into the scene in 2014 and have since been tirelessly developing their sound amidst the newest wave of the genre, evoking elements of early 2000’s emo-infused pop punk to blend with their own brand of modern easycore angst. Their haunting lyrical sentiments and infectious melodies seldom fail to provoke a crowd amassed scream-a-long.” The five-year-old pop-punk act have done shows with Red City Radio, Seaway, Silverstein, Set It Off, and Bedroom Talk, now known as Youth Fountain. The boys signed with Albany, N.Y. based label Equal Vision Records (As Cities Burn, Gideon, Polyphia) last July and just dropped their second EP Nothing Grows Here in February. They’re currently on the road with Makari.
Song to Listen to: “Chasing Ghosts”
William Ryan Key
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Out Now: Virtue – EP (Lone Tree Recordings)
For Fans Of: Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties, Brian Fallon, Matt Pryor
Seriously, does this man really need an introduction? Well, if you are not in the know, William Ryan Key is Ryan Key from Yellowcard, the pop-punk band who went defunct in 2017 and gave us such classics like “Ocean Avenue”, “Lights And Sounds” and “For You, And Your Denial”. Since Yellowcard’s ending, he went solo and gave us two incredible EPs in 2018, and he also started producing music for acts like Selfish Things and Like Torches. Under this project, he toured with This Wild Life, Mayday Parade, and Alex Moses of Columbus, and is currently touring with Selfish Things and Cory Wells. If you’re a fan of William Fitzsimmons and This Wild Life, you’ll enjoy William Ryan Key.
Song to Listen to: “The Bowery”
LOKELLA
Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
Out Now: Set To Flame – Single (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Circa Survive, Glassjaw, In This Moment
When the post-hardcore band Fine Fine Titans called it a day in 2016, LOKELLA rose from those ashes. Husband-wife duo Evan and Jennifer Bartlett called up friends guitarist Chris Bursley and drummer Josh Poel to make the spectacular LOKELLA, a word that’s German for famous warrior. And just like a warrior, they’re fierce and strike hard. The midwestern rock quartet have shared stages with Andrew W.K., Seether, and The Fall Of Troy. Their next EP Censory Overload comes out May 17.
Song to Listen to: “Wicked”
Youth Fountain
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Out Now: Letters To Our Former Selves (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: Knuckle Puck, State Champs, Trash Boat
Known originally as Bedroom Talk, Canadian emo/pop-punk duo Youth Fountain are a new face in the scene. Composed of Tyler Zanon and Cody Muraro, YF have done so much in their short amount of time (YF were created in 2017). Pure Noise Records (Boston Manor, Four Year Strong, Sharptooth) delivered their self-titled EP in July and their full-length Letters To Our Former Selves earlier this month. That album was #11 on the Billboard Heatseekers list when it first came out. They even toured with Can’t Swim, Abandoned By Bears, and Demon In Me. Currently they’re on tour for their debut album and will be hitting up St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, March 28 at Caydence Records.
Song to Listen to: “Deadlocked”
Author & Punisher
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Out Now: Beastland (Relapse)
For Fans Of: Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Sunn O)))
Dark, harsh, and unsettling. These are the three words that sum up Author & Punisher, the industrial dooom/drone stage name of Tristan Shone. Once you hear any song by him, whether it be the skin crawling “Terrorbird”, the uneasy “Nihil Strength”, or the nearly seven minute creep show known as “Callous And Hoof”, you know you won’t be catching sleep tonight. This one man show is here to scare you with speaker-blowing bass and harsh, droning dub machines. Forget fearing Freddy Kruger, fear Shone. He’s the real man of nightmares. Sweet dreams.
Song to Listen to: “Nihil Strength”
Church Girls
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Out Now: Cycles – EP (Chatterbot)
For Fans Of: Angel Olson, Speedy Ortiz, Waxahatchee
Philly based post-punk quartet Church Girls have been going nonstop since forming in 2014. The band, consisting of drummer Michael Liszka, bassist Vince Vullo, guitarist Joseph Wright (what’s up man?), and guitarist/vocalist Mariel Beaumont, are, as their Facebook page puts it, “on a quest to tap into listeners’ emotional marrow by lyrically confessing a resistance to growing up, espousing a tendency towards self-destruction, showing the pains of communication, and celebrating the ways we work to become better humans a little at a time.” With muddled guitars and hard-hitting drums, the indie group go hard on each release, including their current EP Cycles dropping back two months ago on indie label Chatterbot Records (California Cousins, Hit Like A Girl, Origami Angel). Besides going hard on their sound, the band also go hard on touring, constantly playing shows in the U.S. and even the U.K. They’ll be playing Pouzza Fest in Montréal this may with Against Me!, War On Women, and 50 Shades Of Punk Rock.
Song to Listen to: “Balance”
dying in designer
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Out Now: PTSD – Single (Hopeless)
For Fans Of: Boyfriendz, Lil Peep, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal
2018 was a shit year for the emo rapper dying in designer, aka Bobby O’Brien. A toxic relationship nearly led him down the path of suicide, yet he powered on and turned the pain into gut-wrenching music fueled by 808s and breakdowns. The Windy City rapper has been fueling those emotions into some pretty fine music, fine enough to get him signed to beloved pop-punk label Hopeless Records (Emarosa, New Found Glory, Sum 41) in 2019, making O’Brien the first rapper on the label. He’s done collaborations with artists like dubstep musician Riot Ten, rapper Larcin, and trap artists TERRA BLVCK and DËKAY. dying in designer will be performing at So What?! Music Festival on Saturday, April 27 with Of Mice & Men, Wage War, and ERRA.
Song to Listen to: “PTSD”
Come back next week for more artists!
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