It’s been another week of historical and life-changing moments that you’d rather not have to deal with, but you’re here and you might as well make the most of it. For literal decades, people have used music as a means to escape the harsh and cruel reality of the world. Why not you? Here are six new punk, indie, and hardcore songs you can listen to while pretending our democracy is functional and nothing bad is happening anywhere.
Pixies ‘Chicken’
Indie rock legends Pixies have just announced their tenth studio album, ‘The Night the Zombies Came.’ It’s their first with the newly added bassist Emma Richardson. In true Pixies fashion, their latest single ‘Chicken’ is a waltzy dirge that sounds like it could soundtrack the weirdest B-Horror movie you’ve ever seen, though maybe not as weird as the one your college roommate made during their last semester.
Prim ‘Don’t Count On Me’
In 2020, famed hardcore veterans Kevin Flores and Mark Ramos decided to embrace the more melodic side of their signature heavy leanings in the form of a new band called Prim. Following a flurry of EPs and singles, the band is set to release their debut full-length ‘Move Too Slow.’ Their latest single, ‘Don’t Count On Me,’ is fuzzed out power-pop at it’s finest with a healthy dose of oomph that only those steeped in the hardcore scene can provide.
Mamaleek “Legion Of Bottom Deck Dealers’
San Francisco’s avant-garde rock outfit Mamaleek are back with a freshly terrifying – and ten-minute long – track entitled ‘Legion Of Bottom Deck Dealers.’ It’s a brooding, churning, gut-wrenching track that will have you looking around the corner in fear for the entire runtime. The single comes after announcing a run of dates supporting the equally disturbing Chat Pile, reflecting the horrors of modern society a little too effectively.
A Deer A Horse “Rearview”
Have you ever wanted to listen to System of A Down, Primus or Tool without looking like a total nerd? We’ve got the band for you. Brooklyn’s A Deer A Horse is making an unholy racket that harkens back to the golden era of ‘90s hard rock while simultaneously being impossible to define. Their latest single ‘Rearview’ from the forthcoming album ‘Texas Math’ is a sonic journey that, as its title suggests, will have you looking back wondering how the hell you got here.
Karate “Defendants”/“Silence and Sound”
Experimental and criminally underrated rock trio ‘Karate’ – whose influence on indie rock cannot be understated – announced a new album entitled ‘Make It Fit.’ It’s their first in two decades following a lengthy battle to regain the rights to their back catalog. Making up for lost time, they’ve dropped not one, but two excellent singles. ‘Defendants’ and ‘Silence and Sound’ play out as if the band never broke up at all. If you’re a fan of any indie-punk band from 2000-onward, this is your chance to pretend you were in on the ground floor all along.
We know six songs won’t cure your existential dread entirely, so we’ve added them to our ever-expanding playlist. It’s 10 hours long now so you can fill your entire day with it even if you pause for depression naps. You can click here to check it out unless you’d prefer to suffer in silence, which, no judgement.