There is nothing scarier than having bad taste in music. This is why your friends faint and go into convulsions every time you’re in charge of the aux cord. You’ve probably been thinking that they were just so excited to hear ‘Dopesmoker’ for the hundredth time that their nervous systems just couldn’t handle the rush of serotonin and dopamine, but you’ve never been known for your pattern recognition skills. Because we hate to see your friends writhe on the floor of your house as you alert them to every ‘sick drum fill’ that’s coming up, we’ve compiled a list of some newer tracks to try. It’s imperative that you do it for the sake of all involved.
Green Day “The American Dream Is Killing Me”
Green Day announced their 14th studio album “Saviors”, their first since 2020’s failed pop-rock experiment “Father of All Motherfuckers.” The new record finds the band working with producer Rob Cavallo for the first time since 2012 and hopes to harken back to previous stylings of the group’s signature sound. Lead single, “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” refreshingly sounds like it was plucked from the B-Sides of an early aughts session before everything started going terribly wrong for all of us.
Ghoul Lewis & The Boos “Gravedigger’s Ball”
Halloween is just around the corner, and if you’re trying to wrap up a playlist that will really carry your depressing Tuesday Night Halloween party all the way through until 9 p.m. when everyone remembers they have to work the next day, look no further than Nova Scotia’s most depraved video store employee Ghoul Lewis. Backed by a macabre band of various spooky musicians known simply as ‘The Boos,’ Lewis is making party jams for the undead, and you’re invited. “Gravedigger’s Ball” is a haunted blast that will surely get your shindig going hard until maybe even 9:30 p.m.
Teenage Halloween “Getting Bitter”
New Jersey’s Teenage Halloween have been making a steadily larger name for themselves since their eponymous debut album was released in 2020. Their second LP, “Till You Return,” dropped last week and carries on the band’s penchant for intense vulnerability wrapped in short and extremely satisfying power-punk compositions. Album standout “Getting Bitter” details a plea to a subject who has lost sight of themselves. Its earnest and brutally honest pieces of advice are delivered in an incredibly cathartic sing-along chorus, which brings to mind an old adage that says “when your friend is starting to become an asshole, just write an extremely catchy song about them and hope it works out.”
Private Mind “Disconnect”
Long Island’s Private Mind just released their second EP “The Truth You See” and it is a near-perfect start-to-finish firestarter of a release. Notable highlight ‘Disconnect’ packs nearly every facet of the past decade of melodic hardcore into a highly digestible bite-sized three-minute barnburner. By the time the breakdown hits, you’ll be begging for seconds and possibly even thirds. For fans of ‘90’s inspired album art and ignorantly saying there hasn’t been a good hardcore band since 2003.
Glitterer “Plastic”
Title Fight will likely never get back together no matter how often you bitch about them on the internet. Fortunately Ned Russin’s solo-project-turned-full-band Glitterer is releasing a new album, “Rationale.” While Russin recorded nearly all of the instrumentation on Glitterer’s previous releases, building songs atop loops and synth grooved, he has now welcomed three full time band members into the fold. The resulting lead single “Plastic” brings a ferocity not previously heard in his work. It’s a chugging and heavy sound that will hopefully get insufferable thirty-somethings across the world to shut the fuck up about a Title Fight reunion for at least a little bit.
Sunn O))) “Evil Chuck”
Just in time to soundtrack your poor excuse for a ‘haunted house,’ Sunn O))) has dropped two new tracks. ‘Evil Chuck’ and ‘Ron G. Warrior.’ We’d put both on the playlist, but you kind of get the picture with just the one. Released as part of Sub Pop’s long running and revered ‘Singles Series,’ both tracks are practically preview-length versions of their typically interminable ambient drones. To celebrate the release, one of our writers came to work in a black robe, set a bass down on the floor, plucked all the strings at once and let it feedback for eight hours straight while live-streaming the entire event in the hopes of becoming the newest member of Sunn O))). Though we haven’t seen him since, we’re pretty sure it didn’t work.
Home Front “Jupiter”
Canada’s Home Front recently put out one of our staff’s favorite albums of the year so far. It’s not hard to understand why. Their sprawling style runs the gamut of synthpop, industrial, dance punk, and despite all odds, a little bit of hardcore to boot. Simply put, their debut album ‘Games of Power’ has something for nearly everyone. To say we were thrilled to learn that the group had released two new tracks – as well as a remix of ‘Games of Power’ standout, ‘Nation’ – would be an understatement. If you’re new to the band, which of course you are, you tasteless nerd, “Jupiter” is an excellent place to start. Its brooding arrangement neatly packages every aspect of the group’s chaotic leanings into the perfect primer.
Jhariah/Pinkshift “Eat Your Friends”
The future is here and it’s Jhariah. The Brooklyn-based artist has been championing and pushing the boundaries of theatrical emo-core since their first single dropped in 2017. The sound is pretty hard to place, blurring lines between early aughts emo legends like My Chemical Romance and nu-metal influences such as System of a Down. Their latest single “Eat Your Friends’ tags in fellow wall-breaking contemporaries Pinkshift (who are also the future) for a dramatic and chaotic arrangement that never ceases to let up in its intensity. The lyrics take aim at the highly competitive nature of the music industry, while the track’s driving Blood Brothers-esque vocals and dizzying guitars seem intent on destroying it altogether. Kind of like what you thought your failed hyperpop project was doing before you gave it up entirely.
Did you know that these songs are included on an official Hard Times playlist? Did you also know that there are like… a fuckton of other songs on it too? Click here to like, follow, and trick your friends into thinking you have a finger on the pulse of modern alternative music.