Release Wave

Pop Punk royalty The Starting Line is set to release their first album in 18 years, 'Eternal Youth,' on September 26, 2025, marking their debut self-release on their new label Lineage Recordings. The album's lead single, "Sense of Humor," is now streaming everywhere, and showcases the band's focused sound and melodic tact, with a blend of ageless sonic elements and raw honesty while staying true to the emo and pop-punk / alt rock the band built its fanbase on. Vocalist Ken Vasoli emphasizes the band's enduring bond and musical evolution, capturing a sense of timeless spirit and continuous growth in their music.

RIYL: The Starting Line, Drive Thru Records, early 2000s, The Early November, New Found Glory

Chapel Hill, NC indie-rockers Superchunk is set to release their new album "Songs in the Key of Yikes" on August 22, 2025, via Merge Records, featuring the lead single "Is It Making You Feel Something" now available on all streaming platforms. The album promises a triumphant and catchy sound, reminiscent of their iconic fuzzed out inde-punk meets power-pop style. Fans of upbeat indie rock akin to previous albums Majesty Shredding and Digging for Something will find joy in this upcoming release. Songs in the Key of Yikes is a signature Superchunk album: visceral and timeless and catchy as hell—a cathartic balm for these oppressive times that will feel even better once we’ve figured our collective shit out.

Drought is set to release their debut LP "Souvenir" on July 18, 2025 via Iodine Records. Influenced by bands like Pianos Become the Teeth and Title Fight, their emotionally charged sound has already garnered attention from their 2024 released self titled EP . With guest vocals from Pat Flynn on their debut LP produced by Jack Shirley, Drought's "Souvenir" is a mature offering in the melodic post-hardcore and emo scene, recommended for fans of Touche Amore, Fiddlehead, Praise and Have Heart.

Somerset Thrower is set to release their third LP, "Take Only What You Need to Survive," on July 11, 2025, via Smart Punk Records. They've also released their reflective and anthemic new single "Never Going To Therapy" showcasing their mid 90's and early '00s alternative meets punk sound while drawing influences from bands like Jimmy Eat World, Garden Variety, Jawbreaker and Seaweed, providing a nostalgic yet modern feel. The album, produced by Jon Markson and mixed at Animal Farm Studios, captures the band at their most dynamic, with soaring guitars and unshakable hooks, reflecting Somerset Thrower's ten-year tenure of blending raw energy with melody-soaked textures. RIYL: Seaweed, Samiam, Taking Meds, 84 Tigers, Drug Church

New York shoegaze noise-pop rockers Hotline TNT, fronted by Will Anderson, have announced their new 11 track LP titled "Raspberry Moon," releasing on June 20th via Third Man Records. The album follows 2023's outstanding LP Carthweel, and marks their evolution into a full band with its most texturally rich and energetically nuanced sound. Described as their most sweeping and compelling album to date, and first LP built by a full band, lead single "Julia's War" captures a sense of nascent affection with its warm and cutting guitar melodies and big hooks. Fans of Ride, DIIV, Beach Fossils, and My Bloody Valentine will find common ground in Hotline TNT's compelling blend of youthful wistfulness and grown-up charm through walls of reverb and fuzzed out guitars, big melodies and memorable hooks.

Southern California post-hardcore band Spark of Life is releasing their sophomore album, "Plagued By The Human Condition," featuring a cover of That Dog's "Never Say Never" with a special collaboration with Fred Armisen. The album showcases a bold evolution of their sound, offering 13 tracks of punk-infused melodic sing-along hardcore, appealing to fans of bands like Praise, Stand Still, and 7 Seconds.

Florida pop-punk band You Vandal is releasing their fourth album 'this is where people come to die' on May 23, 2025 via Euclid Place Records. Inspired by 90s alt rock and early 2000s emo and pop punk bands, their music offers catchy earworms and a unique blend of pop and punk elements. With thirteen tracks in thirty minutes, the album promises a punky punch for listeners who appreciate their niche brand of grubby pop and offbeat references.

RIYL: Saves The Day, Third Eye Blind, Motion City Soundtrack, This Time Next year

The Casket Lottery's new album "Feel The Teeth", set for release on August 30, 2025, containing 9 brand new tracks exploring themes of exhaustion and revelation, reflecting the complexities of a shifting era. Where their 2020 album Short Songs for End Times felt like a direct confrontation with the chaos of a fractured world, Feel The Teeth dwells in the quieter aftermath, the moments of clarity amidst the noise. The album is soaked in existential fatigue, and compared to its previous release, is described as a quieter, more introspective reckoning with what it means to still be here, still searching for meaning, still hoping for something better even when we're not sure what it looks like anymore. In an age where comfort is a fleeting illusion and the answers remain out of reach, Feel The Teeth is the sound of a band refusing to give up, refusing to let go.

5th wave emo-punk band Hot Mulligan has announced their upcoming fourth full-length album, The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still, set to release on August 22nd via Wax Bodega. The band's new single,"And a Big Load," now streaming everywhere, offers a punk-infused sound that captures themes of self-awareness and catharsis. Across 15 brand new tracks full of fist in the air anthemic emo-punk scream alongs, the new LP is set to be Hot Mulligan’s most cohesive album yet. In addition to bold riffs and careful sonic nuances, it’s chock full of addressing fears, screaming unfiltered vulnerabilities, and finding solace in the fact that regardless of the uncertainty of the future, we exist in this moment. Despite the subject matter, Hot Mulligan strike a balance between sincerity and humor, and find the light moments of comfort, even when it feels impossible. RIYL: Arm's Length, Charmer, and Knuckle Puck.

UK rockers Split Chain's debut LP "motionblur" will be released on July 11, 2025 through Epitaph Records. The album, described as a coming of age story by the band, presents a visceral, kaleidoscopic wall of sound blending conflicting emotions of adolescence with loud guitars, big melodies, and heavy breakdowns pulling from elements of Grunge, Nu-Metal, Alt Rock, Shoegaze and Hardcore. Drawing comparisons to artists like Deftones, Blanket, Oversize and Soul Blind, Split Chain's music combines intense emotions with complex soundscapes that are showcased throughout 11 brand new tracks on their debut LP.

Greet Death will release their 3rd LP "Die In Love" on June 27, 2025 via Deathwish Inc. The band's music, drawing from shoegaze, doomgaze, and a little-bit-of-everything-gaze, explores themes of life and death with emotional depth and melodic sensibility. Returning six years later with what has been described as their third and best album, Greet Death face the great human problem—that we must go on living despite knowing we’re going to die, and loving despite knowing we’re going to lose it all—with great sensitivity, humor, and flourish. With this album, Greet Death have found a way to anthemize our suffering, to turn it into one great, big, beautiful singalong. Latest singles "Country Girl" and "Same But Different Now" can be streamed everywhere for a taste of what's to come. RIYL: Cloakroom, Nothing, Downward, Trauma Ray, and Ovlov.

Unseemlier, a self-proclaimed heavy emo/soft punk band, is set to release their debut LP "I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere" on June 13, 2025 via Sell The Heart Records. Lead off single "Power Chord Career Criminal" is now streaming, showcasing the raw emotional intensity akin to Title Fight and Touche Amore combined with the hook-fueled melodic alt-punk of bands like Drug Church and Militarie Gun. The new LP is no doubt a sonic punch to the jaw, both raw and HUGE sounding, featuring 11 emotionally charged punk rock anthems in less than 25 minutes, appealing to fans of raw, unapologetic music that you can move to.

Dallas-based Chicano artist Esteban Flores, known as Slow Joy, is gearing up to release his debut album "A Joy So Slow At Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming" on May 16th via Mick Music. With Slow Joy's previous works blending alt-rock, grunge, emo, and shoegaze, Slow Joy's sound on the forthcoming LP continues to explore these genres, while also pulling influences from bands like Third Eye Blind, Smashing Pumpkins, The Pixies, and Jimmy Eat World with even bigger choruses and hooks. Across 13 new tracks, his impactful storytelling turning personal loss into powerful emotive tracks remains front and center. Alongside producer Mike Sapone, Slow Joy's forthcoming LP promises a dynamic emotional depth, highlighted by lead off nü-punk leaning single "Gruesome," showcasing a poppier and more upbeat side to Slow Joy.

Slow Crush's upcoming album, "Thirst," is set for release on August 29, 2025 via Pure Noise Records, showcasing their dynamic textures, signature rock and shoegaze sound with added grit. The band aims to evoke a sense of longing and renewal with this album, delving into themes of vulnerability and romantic connections. Thirst’s ten tracks are a thematic cascade of noise that echoes the end and bursts into new life. The riffs are heavier, the vocals are dreamier and more emotional than ever. Title track and latest single "Thirst" is now streaming everywhere. RIYL: Deftones, Nothing, Trauma Ray, Narrow Head, Glare

Assertion, a band formed by William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate/ Foo Fighters) and Justin Tamminga, is releasing their sophomore album "Basking In The Gaslight" July 25, 2025 through Spartan Records. The music blends alternative and post-rock elements, with the lead single "Lock and Load" now streaming, showcasing infectious percussion and guitar riffs. The album is a raw and personal exploration of survival and emotional resilience, heavy in both sound and subject, and shaped by years of upheaval and trauma, but ultimately driven by a desire for healing and growth. The music itself balances loud and melodic, sometimes chaotic, always full.

Chicago punk/emo trio Heavy Seas is set to release their third album "By Degrees" on July 11, 2025 via Creep Records, featuring J. Robbins on bass and production, along Ronnie Dicola (drums) and Jeff Dean (guitar/vocals) both of All Eyes West. The album combines the raw urgency of bands like Jawbreaker, The Casket Lottery and the Get Up Kids with a heavier, emotionally charged sound, reminiscent of the 2nd and 3rd wave emo-core sound of the mid/late 90s. Across 10 new tracks, the new LP explores themes of self-discovery and existential weight, showcasing Heavy Seas as a band pushing their creative boundaries.

RIYL: The Casket Lottery, The Get Up Kids, Jawbreaker, Samiam, Jawbox

Mississippi's band MSPAINT is known for their unique sound that combines heavy elements and melodic undertones, showcased in their debut album "Post-American." Their upcoming EP, "No Separation," set for release on May 23rd, 2025 via Convulse Records, continues this distinctive style, characterized by distorted bass lines, synths, and powerful drumming, with vocalist Deedee's fierce vocals leading the way. The EP's lead single "Angel" exemplifies their experimental fusion, reminiscent of a John Carpenter score blended with the raw energy of a punk performance. Fans of innovative, genre-bending music will find MSPAINT's latest release captivating.