Hello punks! Welcome back to Punk Rock Philosophy’s picks of the week – February edition. We know it is cold, dark and wet- quite a depressing start to the year! But the world of punk does not stop turning and we’ve curated a playlist of pure bangers to see you through the end days of Winter…
The Flatliners- ‘Good, You?‘
Starting out with something self-assured and strong with the new single ‘Good, You?’ by Canadian punks The Flatliners. In breaking news, the band have announced a new album to be released in May (‘Cold World’) and ‘Good, You?’ is leading the collection. It’s a bold, catchy and pretty anthemic track that skewers the topic of toxic masculinity and the irrational fear we all seem to share of talking about our feelings. The video is a homage to the 1990s, a time which the band described as “the greatest era of music videos we have ever known” and have described their take on it as “a piece of nowstalgia that feels like it has a strong foot in the past, and another firmly planted in the present.” Stream the track HERE and pre order/pre save the new album HERE.
I Am The Avalanche- ‘The Horror Show‘
Celebrated NY punk band I Am The Avalanche have been going strong for 22 years and have recently announced the release of their fifth album ‘The Horror Show’- it is their first new album in six years and their debut for label Equal Vision Records. The album is inspired and informed by frontman Vinnie Caruana’s profound personal loss and explores friendship, mortality, love, and resilience with a deeper emotional weight than ever before. The new track is a double hitter with ‘God’s Travel Plans’ and both are accompanied by a cinematically ambitious video with the aforementioned track acting as a bit of a gentle primer before the poignant roar of ‘The Horror Show’ kicks in. The band are enthused about their upcoming LP release, describing the process of recording as without rules or constraints: “Complete freedom to create and push our music forward.” You can stream the new track HERE and pre order the album HERE.
Not Richard and Her Majesty- ‘My Twink Death‘
A bit of glam next with Brighton-based art-rock newcomers Not Richard and Her Majesty. Their new track ‘My Twink Death’ is the first glimpse of a body of work that we should expect for release later this year. And if this song is anything to go by, we are in for a whole lot of rollicking drums, uplifting synth-y sounds and psychedelic garage punk. ‘My Twink Death’ is just a few seconds over 2 minutes long and yet there’s more handclapping, badass guitar solos and flamboyant attitude than you would normally see in a track twice as long. The brain child of Brighton musician Fownes, what began as a solo project has now blossomed into a 5 piece live band, with tour dates due to be announced over the coming months. Speaking of ‘My Twink Death’, Fownes said:
“I felt at my most proud when I would be misgendered (or perhaps more precisely, gendered correctly) and was always sad that it would be a moment of embarrassment for the other person, when I felt at my most strong. ‘My Twink Death’ became an ode to learning yourself and to fucking enjoy being YOU…even if that moment makes someone uncomfortable.” Stream and share the track HERE.
Carla J Easton- ‘Oh Yeah‘
Easton has shared the lead single ‘Oh Yeah’ from her new upcoming album ‘I Think That I Might Love You‘ and it’s a heartfelt bop infused with melodic vocals and guitar. The new album takes the musician in a more guitar-based direction which is a change for Easton who centred her first four solo albums around keys and is also the keyboard player in The Vaselines. ‘I Think That I Might Love You‘ grew out of her work on Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands, during which women repeatedly told her how they picked up an instrument, learned a few chords, and jumped headfirst into making music- a leap that Easton has now been inspired to make. At its emotional core, the album is about friendship: finding it, cherishing it, and learning how to live with its loss. ‘Oh Yeah’ is a great introduction for those new to Easton’s authentic and intricate musicianship; and for those already familiar with her work on albums such as 2020’s ‘Weirdo‘ and 2023’s ‘Sugar Honey‘, you’ll be intrigued by the new direction her music has taken. Stream the new track HERE.
The Taxpayers- ‘Power Trippin’ Dipshits‘
The Taxpayers are releasing a benefit split 7” featuring Ryan Cassata with proceeds going to help communities mitigate the impact of the ICE raids on their cities. The limited-edition 7″ release features The Taxpayers’ new single ‘Power Trippin Dipshits‘ along with Ryan Cassata’s ‘We Don’t F*ck With Cops‘. All from the release proceeds will directly benefit The Open Market MN and Rent Relief for Immigrant Students in Minneapolis. Rob from The Taxpayers had this to say about the new track, the situation in Minneapolis and how you can support their endeavours (this is an excerpt from the full statement): “As I write this, over 2,000 masked gunmen calling themselves “federal agents” rove through neighborhoods of my beautiful city, abducting people off the streets, kidnapping children as young as 2, gassing entire neighborhoods, and shooting US citizens in the back for filming them. There are many heroes in the battle of The People of Minnesota Versus ICE. But here are two doing important work: Open Market MN, which operates a free, volunteer-run grocery store in Saint Paul, and Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid, which distributes donated funds directly to the trans community in Minnesota. Both did their work long before ICE arrived and will continue long after…. We can win the war against fascism if we are organized, unified, and inclusive.” The band are also playing a benefit show on April 3rd with Ryan Cassata and Baby Mahi & the Sitters at Underground Music Venue in Minneapolis. Stream the track HERE and support the Minnesota community.
Hedge- ‘Hey Dude’
The power punk trio Hedge from Worcester, Massachusetts have just unleashed their 6-track EP ‘Freeze Frame High Five‘ and it’s a nugget of absolute pop punk perfection. And if you don’t believe me, check out the first track and lead single ‘Hey Dude‘, an ode to the transformative joy of discovering Dinosaur Jr at a young age and realising you have found your favourite band- as was the experience of Hedge’s songwriter Christopher Chaisson at the tender age of 8. The full EP is out next month on March 27th and you’re in for many more melodic, well crafted tracks by a band fully committed to spreading the joy of punk. Pre order the album HERE.
That’s it folks! Hope you’ve found something you like and if so, make sure to support the bands and the labels by streaming, saving, sharing, buying, pre-ordering and downloading or whatever you can do!
And if you want to make sure you are first to know whenever we post new stuff AND support a DIY punk site at the same time then go to the bottom of the home page and SUBSCRIBE!