While many hardcore bands focus their fury outward, Drought turn inward — channeling personal struggle to chart a different path.

Formed in 2022, the Bay Area band —guitarists Eric Nakano and RJ Rabe, drummer Ray Avila, and vocalist Viggy Ram — found common ground in shared influences like Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutYou, and Title Fight to overcome personal hardships and isolation. After recording a three-song EP in 2022, Drought brought their emotionally charged live shows to stages alongside Jeromes Dream and vs self before catching the attention of Iodine Recordings.

Ontario-based emo post-rock band New Design announced the upcoming release of their second full-length album, titled Keepsake. Listen to the title track out now and watch the music video below.

“Keepsake is about memory, longing, and regret. It's about a yearning for something once lost that will never be whole again.”

Produced by Kyle Marchant (Silverstein, Boys Night Out, and more), the album blends the expressive style of early emo with the sweeping, atmospheric soundscapes of post-rock that New Design is known for and brought to life at their shows.

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!

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.