Round three. Let’s do this.
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 three of five. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.
Without further delay, let’s start the list!
Of Night And Light
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Out Now: Of Night And Light (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Glassjaw, Microwave, Saosin
Since 2015, Of Night And Light have been bringing their unique style of post-hardcore mixed in with alt-rock and indie vibes to the local Buffalo music scene. Joseph Kinem (guitar, vocals), Cameron Thibault (bass, guitar, backing vocals), and Nick Badeau (drums) make up the powerful Buffalo trio. Of Night And Light “combines dynamic vocals with delayed, rhythmic guitar chops, aggressive overdriven bass riffs, and eclectic drum fills to create a full-bodied sound that moves from the quiet, effect-laden swells of indie rock to heavy instrumentals and breakdowns more reminiscent of hardcore and metal,” their Facebook page reads. Radio show The Uncharted Hour called ONAL “…a force to be reckoned with.” ONAL have done shows with Winski, Capstan, and Emarosa. They also played the final Vans Warped Tour at Darien Lake, N.Y., on the WNY Korner Stage with fellow local acts The Toy Box Brigade, Cardboard Homestead, and On The Cinder. They’re currently working on writing a new EP and recording with RJ DeMarco of Fernway at Skyway Studios in Hamburg, N.Y..
Song to Listen to: “Broken”
Cory Wells
Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA
Out Now: Patience – Single (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: Dashboard Confessional, SayWeCanFly, Landon Tewers
Singer-songwriter Cory Wells is no stranger to music. He used to be in the band Lesser. Now solo, he’s teamed up with Pure Noise Records (Homesafe, Less Than Jake, Senses Fail) to show the world his talent. His voice is powerful and has such raw energy. The video for his song “End Of A Good Thing” currently has 1.4 million views. Also no, he’s not related to the lead vocalist of Three Dog Night. Under his solo project, Wells has done shows with Seahaven, In Her Own Words and Secondhand Serenade and has toured with William Ryan Key and Four Year Strong. A full-length should be out by this year.
Song to Listen to: “Walk Away”
Scarlxrd
Hometown: Wolverhampton, UK
Out Now: INFINITY (Lxrd Records/Island)
For Fans Of: Ghostemane, Ho99o9, $uicideboy$
Scarlxrd’s a rising name in the rap scene, combining metal with trap beats that will start mosh pits in seconds. It’s kinda funny that this hardcore rapper is actually Marius Listhrop, a former YouTuber who went by the name Mazzi Maz. The once quirky, upbeat vlogger who hung out with the infamous Sam Pepper is now tearing up stages. Scarlxrd just dropped his latest record INFINITY via his own label Lxrd Records and Island Records (Catfish And The Bottlemen, Keane, Mumford & Sons). He’ll be hitting up festivals like Afropunk Festival in August (Leon Bridges, Fire From The Gods, Hyro The Hero), Openair Frauenfeld in July (G-Eazy, Rae Sremmurd, Travis Scott), and Epicenter Festival in May (311, Basement, Fever 333). The rapper will be opening up for Bring Me The Horizon during their Second Base tour in the U.S. this May.
Song to Listen to: “NX PRESSURE”
We Are The Union
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Out Now: Self Care (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches, Big D And The Kids Table, Direct Hit!
We Are The Union have to be the oldest band on the list, forming back in 2005. In the past 14 years, the Michigan-based ska act have released four albums (their latest being the Kickstarter funded Self Care in 2018), playing shows with Mustard Plug, Direct Hit!, The Suicide Machines, Less Than Jake, and Mixtapes, and have done The FEST in Gainesville, Fla., numerous times. However, you might know one member of the band from his other project Skatune Network. Created by trombonist Jeremy Hunter in 2016, his project has him doing ska renditions of songs from La Dispute, Weezer, Free Throw, Japanese Breakfast, and A Day To Remember, plus songs from TV shows (Adventure Time, Daria, Steven Universe) and video games (DuckTales, Kirby, Sonic The Hedgehog). They’re currently on tour with The Code, Dollar Signs, and Tightwire.
Song to Listen to: “What’s Wrong With Me?”
Hightail Home
Hometown: Morgantown, WV
Out Now: Clean Fights – Single (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties, The Front Bottoms, Never Shout Never
Remember Down They Fall? After the band broke up in 2018, former members Grayson Prince and Aron Golden got together to write some indie pop music under the name Hightail Home. Think of Dan Campbell of Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties/The Wonder Years singing Never Shout Never songs. The duo played their first show on New Year’s Eve at Thunderbird’s in Moundsville, W.Va. and have since done shows with Telltale and Fate’s Got A Driver, featuring Eddie Reyes (ex-Taking Back Sunday). They’re dropping their debut EP sometime this year.
Song to Listen to: “Clean Fights”
Nude Shoes
Hometown: Asbury Park, NJ
Out Now: Suburban Ceremonies – EP (Know Hope)
For Fans Of: Jimmy Eat World, Moneen, Transit
New Jersey knows how to do emo. The state gave us Senses Fail, Thursday, Man Overboard, Saves The Day, and My Chemical Romance, for fuck’s sake. Now, the Garden State has given us Nude Shoes, the one-man emo project created by Andy Katz, formerly of Weird And Wonderful Words. The songs on his debut EP Suburban Ceremonies are some of the finest emo tracks of the year. With Discovered Magazine, I said, “What you hear on Nude Shoes’s debut EP ‘Suburban Ceremonies’ are songs that just drip with pain and hope, composed of honest lyrics with that wonderful emo sound the state has given us time and time again.” He just did a show with bloom. back in January and did a run of shows back in March. Be on the look out for Nude Shoes.
Song to Listen to: “Headache For A Decade”
SeeYouSpaceCowboy
Hometown: San Diego/Los Angeles, CA
Out Now: Songs For The Firing Squad (Pure Noise)
For Fans Of: Heavy Heavy Low Low, Jesus Piece, Vein
This Cali sasscore band (their personal name for their mixture of mathcore and metalcore) are making waves. After signing with Pure Noise Records (Counterparts, Just Friends, Stick To Your Guns) in 2019, they released their debut album Songs For The Firing Squad. Prior to their signing, they’ve been kicking ass across the country, doing shows with with Old Wounds, Year Of The Knife, and Impending Doom. The sasscore quartet will be hitting the road this spring with Wristmeetrazor and will be performing at Spring Fling in Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday, May 4, with Turnover, Mom Jeans., and Culture Abuse. And yes, their name’s a reference to Cowboy Bebop.
Song to Listen to: “Self Help Specialist Ends Own Life”
downcast
Hometown: South West England/South Wales/Midlands, UK
Out Now: downcast – EP (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Neck Deep, ROAM, Seaway
Miss 2013 era pop-punk? So do downcast, an emo/pop-punk quartet hailing from the UK who are brining it back with a vengeance. Makes sense since there’s a track on their debut self-titled EP that’s named “2013”. Filled with the same sound you’ve come to know and love in the genre in the early 2010s, downcast are here to make you think of better times. They’ve done shows with Anchor Down, Who Saves The Hero?, and just wrapped up a tour with Light Years. As Kerrang! put it, “Cynics could label [downcast] as derivative, but the sheer effort, execution and honesty here mark downcast out as a treat for those with lost souls and broken hearts.” Think of better times and listen to UK’s finest up-and-coming pop-punk act downcast.
Song to Listen to: “I’m Sorry”
Radar State
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Out Now: Strays (Wiretap)
For Fans Of: The Anniversary, Gin Blossoms, Seaweed
This rock foursome is made up of some of the greatest emo groups of the late 90s and early 2000s. Radar State has Matt Pryor and Jim Suptic (The Get Up Kids), Josh Berwanger (The Anniversary), and Adam Phillips (The Architects, and no, not that Architects). The band’s label Wiretap Records (Audio Karate, Lost In Society, Spanish Love Songs) says about the supergroup, “The natural aspect of the band comes out in any discussion of Radar State’s music. The band as a whole agrees that this is something that just makes sense, given the fact that they’ve all shared the stage in some shape or form over the years. A sense of mutual appreciation and respect really drives the band, and the fact that all four are friends certainly helps.” Radar State have played Riot Fest in 2017 and have done shows with Say Anything and The Casket Lottery.
Song to Listen to: “Damn The Man”
Beach Bunny
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Out Now: Prom Queen – EP (Self-Released)
For Fans Of: Diet Cig, Kississippi, Snail Mail
Lili Trifilio has been working hard under the moniker Beach Bunny since 2015. In the four years she’s spent with that name, she and her backup band guitarist Matt Henkels and drummer Jonathan Alvarado have toured with PUP and Remo Drive, played Riot Fest in 2018, and will be playing their biggest show yet this summer: Lollapalooza. She even has her own fan group on Facebook called Beach Bunnyposting, where her fans “stan a queen in here and her name is Lili Trifilio.” Trifilio is inspired by everything “from heartache, her brother fighting cancer, struggles of being a female in the scene, and everyday obstacles,” according to the trio’s Facebook page. Beach Bunny is a band that you surely cannot pass on.
Song to Listen to: “Prom Queen”
Come back next week for more artists!
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