2025 Q1 ROUND-UP
Life has been busy of late, but that can't stop me from subjecting you to a barrage of 20 (twenty!) great songs that came out in the past few months, spanning quite the variety of genres. Don't miss out on these highlights.
Fucked Up - Disabuse: Seminal hardcore band Fucked Up released one of their best songs in years. Devoted to the vocalist's daughter, this track sees them raging against homophobes and transphobes.
Mikau - Spiraling Decay: Their entire LP is hit after hit, but this single captures it's essence in just a couple of minutes. Auto-tune and breakdowns are used entirely sincerely, making this the best song from the 2020's that sounds like it came from the late '00's or early '10's.
Stray From the Path - Kubrick Stare: Stray From the Path rarely miss, and this song is no exception. This is a fine piece of mosh-inciting hardcore, with the metallic grooves they're known for to elevate it to something memorable.
Rivers of Nihil - House of Light: This progressive Death Metal act are back with another LP, and they nailed it with this ethereal piece, which features plenty of double bass drum kicks, a floaty guitar solo, and soaring clean vocals and a backing choir.
PUP - Paranoid: Punk darlings PUP unveiled one of their catchiest songs yet, detailing a messy fallout, with an addicting chorus and a chaotic outro that captures the stress perfectly.
Hundredth - Dark Side: Last I checked in with Hundredth years ago, they were playing melodic hardcore, but now they've apparently transitioned to a blend of shoegaze, post-hardcore, and indie rock. I won't lie, I think I prefer this version of the band, because this song is tasty.
Laura Jane Grace - Your God (God's Dick): Laura has been exceptionally prolific lately, with an album and an EP dropping last year, and now a second LP on the way, but no one can accuse her of sacrificing quality for quantity with this bouncy punk bop that's sure to be considered sacrilege.
The Callous Daoboys - Lemon: Arguably my favorite mathcore band, The Callous Daoboys have leaned into more an alt metal direction for this album, and while I miss the eccentricity of Celebrity Therapist, there's no arguing that they know how to write a hook. Of the three singles dropped so far, this is the highlight, with deep bass and plenty of sugar to balance the sour.
Spiritworld - Oblivion: I thought their last release, Deathwestern, was great but nothing too special; luckily, their latest album blew me away. Their fusion of death metal, thrash, and country works far better than it has any right to, and while I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite track, this song is certainly a highlight.
PVRIS - My House (feat. Courtney LaPlante): I was wonderfully surprised to see that PVRIS re-recorded one of my favorite songs of theirs, this time with guest Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, and formerly of Iwrestledabearonce. The rock-tinged electropop is even better than the original.
Pyramids - Fools Gold (Mi Vida Ha Ido Pa Atras): If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I love weird metal fusions, so when I found out that Pyramids had not only signed to oddball metal label The Flenser, but that their next LP was adding reggaeton to their already otherworldly mix of black metal, noise rock, and ambient, I dug right in. It's darkly textured and ethereal, and I can't wait for the full record.
Heavy Heavy Low Low - Soft & Obedient: Yep, that's right, mathcore weirdoes Heavy Heavy Low Low are back, and they sound better than ever. This short and sweet track is every bit as discordant and disorienting as you'd expect; in fact, this might be their best song yet.
Lash Meat - FLOUNDER (feat. Raygun Busch): As soon as I saw Raygun Busch from Chat Pile was a guest on this song, I had no choice but to listen to it, but even without his presence, this song would still be top notch. Noisy and in-your-face, this is how all rock music should sound from here on out.
Marina - Cuntissimo: I'll be honest, it's possible this song isn't that good, and it just appears better than it is in comparison to her previous singles, Cupid's Girl and the cringe-inducing Butterfly. That said, it's easily the best Marina song in years, feeling like something of a return to form to her early era, which remains unmatched to this day. What can I say? It's a pop earworm.
Gates to Hell - A Summoning: I'm shocked that this band wasn't on my radar until I listened to their latest album after being recommended it. It's a blistering blend of death metal and hardcore that doesn't ease up or overstay it's welcome.
Bayside - Devotion and Desire (2025 Version): What a blast from the past! Emo punk rockers Bayside re-recorded this song ahead of their 20 year anniversary tour for their self-titled album, and it really makes you appreciate how much the band has grown while still maintaining the sound they're known for.
Mizmor, Hell - Begging To Be Lost: Black metallers Mizmor showed up on my radar because of their excellent collaboration with sludge titans Thou, and now they're back with a new collab, this time with blackened doom solo project Hell, and it's everything I could have wanted. This is cathartic, eerie metal with more than a hint of sludge and drone, and goes to some extremely cool places.
Demersal - Jeg ved ikke hvor det er: I've talked before about how Demersal are one of the most criminally underrated modern screamo bands, and I can only hope they start to get the attention they deserve with this darkly melancholic new track, opening with tender chords and clean vocals before turning into a tearjerking ripper.
Mclusky - People Person: Legendary noise rock and post-hardcore pioneers Mclusky have returned! I'm hyped for the upcoming album if the songs they've dropped so far are any indication. It really feels like barely any time has passed, with this track picking up right where they left off so many years ago.
Deafheaven - Magnolia: Deafheaven tore my world in half when I listened to Sunbather for the first time a couple of years ago, and unfortunately, nothing they released since that 2013 blackgaze masterpiece has really scratched the same itch. It's not bad, per se, it's all quite good, but they focused much more on the shoegaze than the black metal half of their equation, which left me wanting. The good news, then, is that "Magnolia" is their heaviest song in about a decade. Yep, the pendulum has swung the other way with this one, as it's pure black metal mastery. We're so fucking back.
Maruja - Aon: Punk jazz collective Maruja were a group I was just introduced to, and I'll be honest, I'm a bit obsessed. This is the type of artsy music you let just wash over you while you drift away with your eyes closed in bed. It's sensational.
BONUS: Here are a handful of various past albums I've been blasting so far this year, and highly recommend.