And then there were three…
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 seven of ten. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.
Surfbort
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Out Now: Hot On The Scene – Single (Cult)
For Fans Of: Amyl And The Sniffers, The Coathangers, X
Loud, crude, and gross are some of the best words to describe Surfbort, a punk rock quartet hailing from the Big Apple. Named after the sex position mentioned in Beyoncé’s “Drunk In Love,” the group have been kicking ass, taking names, and throwing up on Trump. While they might seem like the kind of people your parents would tell you not to interact with, they’re actually extremely nice, fun people. So far in their career, the band have performed with Dune Rats, Leftöver Crack, and Wavves, partnered with Gucci, and were feted by Blondie. Not bad for a band that began as a joke.
Song to Listen to: “Hideaway”
Wilmette
Hometown: Sleepy Hollow, IL
Out Now: Anxious Body (Mutant League)
For Fans Of: Belmont, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Save Face
Born from a basement in Sleepy Hollow, Ill., easycore troupe Wilmette have done a lot of shit since forming in mid 2018. They signed with Mutant League Records (AM Taxi, Chief State, Lucky Boys Confusion,) dropped their debut EP Anxious Body last year, and have performed with Keep Flying, Right On Kid, dying in designer, LURK, and Boys Of Fall. Right now, the band are going to work on a new EP even with COVID-19 running amuck in the country, which should be out by summertime. Stay safe boys.
Song to Listen to: “Carol From HR”
Future Teens
Hometown: Boston, MA
Out Now: Breakup Season (Triple Crown)
For Fans Of: Heart Attack Man, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Retirement Party
The genre that Future Teens perform in is called bummer pop. What does that sound like? Well, as they bluntly put it, ” It sounds like it’s 1 am and you’re on the front stoop of a party full of people you barely know talking with your best friend after you’ve both had a really hard couple of weeks.” Formed in 2014, the bummer pop band have dropped two albums, their latest Breakup Season came out in 2019 via Triple Crown Records (A Will Away, Dogleg, Holy Fawn,) toured with Hot Mulligan, Bad Bad Hats, and The Wonder Years, created two cover albums for charity, and played a Carly Rae Jepsen tribute set. If you’re looking for fun times, look no further than Future Teens. They’ll spend the summer touring with Spanish Love Songs.
Song to Listen to: “Born To Stay”
Point North
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Out Now: Into The Dark – Single (Hopeless)
For Fans Of: Hands Like Houses, Sleeping With Sirens, Too Close To Touch
If you say Sleeping With Sirens is one of your major influences, it makes sense to cop vocalist Kellin Quinn on your new single. That’s what the poppy rock trio Point North did. Known for covering acts like My Chemical Romance, nothing,nowhere., and The Chainsmokers, the former We Are Triumphant group broke it big last year when they signed with Hopeless Records (Fame On Fire, Lil Xtra, ROAM.) With how catchy their hooks and sound are, it’s no wonder they got to perform with acts like As It Is, Stand Atlantic, and Super Whatevr. Point North are touring with Mayday Parade this September.
Song to Listen to: “Into The Dark”
Hounding
Hometown: Canterbury, Kent, UK
Out Now: Bad Days (Easter Island)
For Fans Of: The Jesus Lizard, Milk Teeth, Weezer
I started to struggle looking for bands, so I reached out to the fine folks at Midwest Emoposting on Facebook for some recommendations. One of the dozens I received was the grungy rock trio (or quartet?) Hounding. Originally known as Mutt, Hounding have this sound that recalls the good old days of grunge, influenced by Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and The Smashing Pumpkins, where frontman El Tyler has this “Corgan-esque howling” in his voice. And if you read my hints on Facebook, this is the band whose EP has Pikachu, Weezer, and Spider-Man on the cover. Definitely check out Hounding.
Song to Listen to: “Peach Fuzz”
TERRORBYTE
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Out Now: Decepticon – Single (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Emmure, Kissing Candice, Sylar
So what would you label the extreme masked metal sextet TERRORBYTE under? As one person put it on YouTube, “industrial metalcore gangsta rap,” which isn’t far from the truth. Formed in 2014, the band are as mysterious as they are heavy. With members under names like Ghost Drone (guitarist,) Shieldsy (keyboards/programmong,) and The Poltergeist (lead vocals,) it’s clear they got themselves under wraps. TERRORBYTE have done shows with Mushroomhead, Attila, and even Insane Clown Posse. They just dropped a new song featuring Emmure’s Frankie Palmeri.
Song to Listen to: “Deception”
Derek Ted
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Out Now: lo fi x-mas, vol. 1 (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: Chase Huglin, Father John Misty, Gardenhead
After playing in screamo bands for some time, singer-songwriter Derek Ted wanted to break out of that phase and do something different. As a solo artist, he mixes in elements of folk and jazz with a hint of emo and modern pop, combining styles from his influencers like Circa Survive, Angel Olsen, and Fleet Foxes. After gaining some attention with his material, he signed with Pure Noise Records (Inclination, Moon Tooth, Spanish Love Songs) last summer and dropped two EPs, the newest one being a Christmas themed record back in December. Ted has done shows with Pinegrove, Arms Akimbo, Field Medic, Scott Ruth, and Kississippi. If you like solo works with interesting combinations, Ted’s your guy.
Song to Listen to: “Sew Me Up”
Hechael
Hometown: Detroit, MI and Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
Out Now: Never Meant By American Football – Single (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Foxing, Oso Oso, Slaughter Beach, Dog
Dam you, Hector M. Alicea Torres. You’re in almost every group I’m in on Facebook and now you have a band? Just kidding, homie, Hechael’s some pretty good stuff. Spanning two countries, Hector and his partner in crime Michael Klave have come together to create some fine emo music. Over the course of a couple months, the two came together “to create art that imitates our lives, or whatever versa.” All that hard work birthed their debut single “Never Meant By American Football,” a four minute long acoustic track rich with emotion. They spent last month in the studio creating more material. And if you have any trouble finding them online, add “-wastaken” to their name. Ask Hector why.
Song to Listen to: “Never Meant By American Football”
Greer
Hometown: Costa Mesa, CA
Out Now: Bittersweet – Single (Epitaph)
For Fans Of: The Last Shadow Puppets, Rex Orange County, Wallows
Imagine playing a sold out gig with only one song available. That’s what Greer did. The indie band are named after late Vine star Emma Greer DiBaise, who died from cancer in 2016 and dated Greer’s drummer Lucas. And now her name will live on in the form of this band. Later this year, Greer will tour with The Honeysticks and are performing at the Ohana Festival in Dana Point, CA, with Kings Of Leon, My Morning Jacket, and Plague Vendor.
Song to Listen to: “Song For Me”
Nova Charisma
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV and Chico, CA
Out Now: Exposition II (Equal Vision)
For Fans Of: Head Automatica, The Mars Volta, Stolas
Nova Charisma is the brainchild of Hail The Sun frontman Donovan Melero and Royal Coda (and ex-Stolas) guitarist Sergio Medina. You would think that these two would create some killer progressive rock, but it’s actually some dream poppy rock music in the vein of early Coheed And Cambria and The Mars Volta. It’s not the first time these two created music together. Both were members in the supergroup Sianvar, and when that project ended, they quickly created Nova Charisma while the two were in London for two weeks. Currently the two are working on Exposition III.
Song to Listen to: “Gemini”
Come back next week for more artists!
Punk Goes Prenatt 