Smoking Popes Josh Caterer: "I try not to be too nostalgic about it"


For more than three decades, the Smoking Popes have carved out a singular space in the punk landscape, fusing raw energy with crooner charm.
For more than three decades, the Smoking Popes have carved out a singular space in the punk landscape, fusing raw energy with crooner charm.
We caught up with William Cremin, one half of the creative force behind indie-pop band Cumulus. With their fourth album We’ve Got It All out now via Share It Music, Cumulus marks a new chapter in its evolution.
Polyvinyl Record Co. and Laura Jane Grace are pleased to present “Active Trauma,” the newest single to be lifted from the Friday, July 18 release of Adventure Club by Laura Jane Grace In The Trauma Tropes, a new and incendiary, 12-song collection that explores the archetypical hero’s journey tropes from classic Greek mythology: love, war, trust, betrayal, virtue & vice, iced coffee drinks — it’s all there, and so is the fun!
With their signature blend of raw energy, biting lyrics, and anthemic hooks, Colorado Springs punk rockers The Sleights are back with their second full-length album, This One’s Gonna Hurt.
secondSELF is a punk trio that converged in the shadows of Nashville's prominent country and Americana music scene, not by way of the musical norms in Music City, but rather for their shared love of fast, melodic and aggressive punk rock. Drawing inspiration from the chaos of life and the turbulence of today's political and societal climate, their music is raw, urgent, and unapologetic.
In January 2025, secondSELF joined the Punkerton Records roster, wasting no time in making their presence known. Their debut full-length, The Current Dissent, is set for release on May 23.
Boston hardcore legends Death Before Dishonor announce their sixth full-length album, Nowhere Bound, set for release May 16th on Bridge Nine Records. Across eleven tracks, the band deliver with furiosity through resilient vocals, thrashy riffs, and accelerated drums. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Hatebreed), and recorded at Rock Valley Studio, Easthampton, MA and Planet-Z, Wilbraham, MA. It can be preordered now through Bridge Nine.
On writing the album, drummer Ben Hilton shares:
Pop-punk veterans Teenage Bottlerocket have just released their new single “She’s the Shit,” and are announcing the upcoming release of their new LP Ready to Roll, the band’s first full length for Pirates Press Records. The album is scheduled for release on September 12.
Here’s what the band have to say about their new record and their new label:
We’re back with a brand new full-length, and we’re thrilled to announce:
Ready to Roll drops this September on Pirates Press Records!
Everything about The Lash evokes a certain sort of brutality.
During a trip to the Vatican, Bentham found inspiration in some of its forgotten art: I was in a very dusty part of the basement, and they had these crazy bronze reliefs that were some of the most brutal things I’ve ever seen. There was a particular one called The Horrors of War. It was two guys fighting over a knife. That image ended up guiding a lot of this record.
Hailing from Long Island, NY, Somerset Thrower was founded by four friends who share a love of all things rock and roll. Built on punk and hardcore roots, the four-piece blends raw energy with melody-soaked textures to create something both urgent and timeless. Today, the band share their first new music in four years with the reflective single "Never Going To Therapy" and announce their third album, Take Only What You Need to Survive, set for release July 11th through Smartpunk Records.
After two whirlwind years of touring—lighting up queer and punk festival stages from Pouzza in Montreal to Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas, Camp Punksylvania in Pennsylvania, and FEST in Gainesville—the self-described over-the-hill queer party punk