Abertooth Lincoln - Jones Ya Glad I Didn't

Abertooth Lincoln combine left-wing politics with musical nods to Propagandhi's most hardcore material and the prog-punk stylings of Nomeansno. They've toured throughout the US and Canada, "Jones Ya Glad I Didn't Say Alex" is there most recent release. In addition to being a great band, they're also swell human beings. - Johnathon Gallienne/Johnathon1069

All Torn Up! - Wake

All Torn Up!’s new 7-inch Wake is one of the best hardcore releases of 2020 so far. Its politically and socially aware lyrics fuel the anger that is blasted out by Joey Steel's vicious vocals along with the rest of the band's hard-hitting instrumentation. All Torn Up! was supposed to embark a pretty big US tour with the Subhumans in April to support Wake, but unfortunately it was totally cancelled. Even if that weren't the case, this DIY project is definitely worth checking out if you need some new East Coast hardcore in your life. -Ricky Frankel

Paige Beller - Paige Beller…Space Cadet

Paige Bellar's solo material slows things down a bit, and can get a bit more introspective than the material she plays in the band Jasper the Colossal. One thing that shines through, whether she's playing punk rock or baring her soul over an acoustic guitar, is Paige is a great songwriter. She's toured the US, playing everything from punk clubs to coffee shops. Her latest release, Sad Sack came out in 2018. When she's not singing songs, you can find her supporting her friends while they sing theirs. - Johnathon Gallienne/Johnathon1069

Calligram - The Eye Is The First Circle

Calligram are a crazy band. Their members hail from the UK, France, Italy and Brazil; they play a mean-as-hell version of contemporary black metal with the pummelling ferocity of hardcore and some death metal influences for good measure. They also just released an absolutely killer album which they should, by all rights, be touring right now. But the world had other plans. So check out the record, and maybe buy it along with some of their equally killer merch or vinyl. – Sam Houlden

Clear channel - Hell

Clear Channel are a freaky crew from Washington, DC. Including members of Downtown Boys, they are decidedly cooler than the red hot fire of the DBs. On their debut album, Hell, Clear channel cut spaced-out werido art-punk that draws from New Order as much as it does Kleenex as it does Janelle Monae. As the warped computer bleeps pierce through the rumbling bass here, the band sounds like renegades from the future that have come back to the present to provide guidance- except that their view point is so far removed from our own, that the best we can do is try to understand what these astral creatures are talking about. – John Gentile

The Good Depression - No Funeral

Hardcore punk band from Hamilton, Ontario The Good Depression self-released their first full-length album No Funeral in 2019. The album is a blistering mix of traditional hardcore punk and elements of heavy metal with non-stop energy. Despite the name, No Funeral has a positive feel all throughout. The songs offer a release for any pent-up emotion and provide much needed catharsis. The Good Depression were set to go out on their first American tour this spring but have been forced to postpone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No Funeral is a great record and a more than worthy addition to any music lover’s collection. - Em Moore

The Highsides - Some Pretty Dark Thoughts

Hailing from the mighty wet coast, Vancouver, BC, The Highsides put out this blistering cigarette and liquor-soaked record on Valentine's Day of 2020. This slab of punk rock was written after frontman Shane Alyward decided to sober up, which lead to him writing these catchy, energetic bursts of rock. On the flip side, lyrically speaking, Alyward sounds straight-up defeated which, I'm sure anyone can relate to in these dark times. Think Off With Their Heads, only more anthemic and a tick faster. Speaking with drummer Anthony Wallace regarding the effect that this pandemic has had on the band, he stated what I'm sure is a reoccurring theme among many bands in light of these events: "We had to cancel our album release, which has obviously slowed things down for us, whether that be sales or just overall promotion. We haven't been able to get together to jam as of yet but are hoping to do so soon. A positive in the quarantine is it has at least given us time to brainstorm new ideas and begin to write new material, but we are looking forward to getting on the road to showcase and support Some Pretty Dark Thoughts." - Jefftommy

Murder By Death - The Other Shore

Born in my former place of residence, the artsy-fartsy Indiana college town of Bloomington, Murder By Death had their 20th anniversary as a band this year. Their big celebration tour was put to an abrupt end when the shit hit the fan mid-March, sending them home after a pandemic-scared half-attended Twin Cities show to their current home base in Louisville to hole up with the rest of us. The band is their full-time job, and they survive off this money alongside the now-temporarily-closed Italian restaurant owned by married couple Adam Turla and Sarah Balliet (singer/guitarist and cellist respectively). 2020 is shaping up to be a tight belt year for them, so please consider purchasing one of their many amazing albums on Bandcamp today. Their most recent album The Other Shore takes their "whisky devil music" straight into outer space -- literally a "space western" story -- increasing the amount of reverb and ambience while keeping intact elements that make them MBD - keys, accordion, mandolin and that ever-present cello, tearing through the mix like a saw. - Greg Simpson

Natterers - Head In Threatening Attitude

Head In Threatening Attitude is truly an achievement for Natterers. It's pretty mind-blowing that it is just the band's first full-length. It's a good place to start in the Natterers discography because it encompasses what they accomplished on their first two EP's and how much further they took and mastered their sound. Thomas's treble-filled, surf-punk guitar riffs mixed with Emma's aggressive and confrontational vocals make for one hell of a 14-track release. Natterers were supposed to start a Scandinavian tour back in late-March, but it was postponed. Punknews reported that the band started working on new material back in October, but until we get to hear that, consider listening to Head In Threatening Attitude if you haven't yet. And if you have it already, the band has some awesome merch on their Bandcamp page as well. -Ricky Frankel

Outdoor Velour - Our Songs

At this point most of you know about my bands. I've never survived on my retro-indie band Outdoor Velour for my sole income, but shows and merch sales help pay for more merch and upcoming record pressings. We had a handful of shows around the midwest that were cancelled due to the pandemic, losing us several hundred dollars that was meant to press our upcoming CD and get a new t-shirt design printed up. We don't need the money as much as other bands on this list, but if you've got the spare change and you like the idea of our self-coined genre FUZZTOWN, dig in. We start with a Motown structure--soulful shuffles, saxes, strings, lots of tambourine and percussion--but then add the FUZZ guitars over top… ok, it's like if The Supremes met Jesus and Mary Chain. On our most recent record, we put that sound into a set of covers called Our Songs, which includes everything from loud renditions of quiet Elliott Smith tunes to a dreampop take on The Beatles. - Greg Simpson

Matt Pless - Nero

Matt Pless has been active in the punk scene for nearly 20 years now. First, through his punk band, 3 prong outlet, and more recently, through his solo career. Nero marked Matt's first release on a bigger label, and brought with it amazing recordings of three previously released songs, and new releases, including the titular track, that has been featured on "A Fistful of Vinyl" as well as other popular YouTube punk shows. Matt generally tours 100+ days a year, and is one of the most down to earth musicians I've ever had the pleasure of speaking to. When asked about how COVID-19 affected him and his music, Matt stated, "I imagine it hit me as hard as it hit any musician who relies on full-time music for income at certain periods in life. I was down in Florida on tour when things got really crazy here. I cancelled the remaining dates and drove home. I'm doing ok, though. It was kind of exciting at first, the whole apocalypse movie vibe, but the novelty has worn off. Around day 23 in COVID lockdown, it starts to feel like 10 thousand miles between the kitchen and the living room." - David Wilkins

Daniel Romano - Super Pollen

I've always assumed that the only way Daniel Romano possibly could keep up his prolific recording level would be through intense bouts of isolation, and from that note, this strange, liminal period of our lives probably suits him just fine. Given that he's released 26 songs over the past month seems to bear that out. While the near-weekly record releases are damn welcome for those of us stuck inside, you can't overlook how the pandemic knocked Danny's original plans off course. When everything went sideways, he was touring the US with his live band The Outfit, supporting their new You've Changed-released live record "Ok Wow." With the plug pulled, Romano retreated to rural Niagara and almost immediately dove into this enviably mad release schedule. First came the alt-country LP "Visions Of The Higher Dream", and most recently the fully country Outfit live set Content To Point The Way. In between those came the Super Pollen EP, and you could even call this one the product of a bonafide super-group. Super Pollen features Danny in one of his punkier modes, backed by his brother Ian Romano along with Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk of the epic Fucked Up (and the newly launched side-projects Jade Hairpins and Masterpiece Machine, speaking of prolific). This isn't the first time the twisting narrative of Attack In Black's crossed with the Toronto hardcore world, as Ian Romano played with Falco as part of Career Suicide during the Machine Response era. Danny was no help placing Super Pollen into that timeline, claiming, "I have no idea when any of it was recorded, and I definitely don't remember doing it." - Adam White

Straight Line Arrival – The Greatest Arsonist

Straight Line Arrival's 2019 release was praised by many in the DIY folk-punk scene for being a groundbreaking release by the up and comers. It borders on power pop and melodic hardcore, while still maintaining the ideology and feeling of their past releases. When asked about the COVID-19 effect, Skyler of SLA stated, "I've lost everything due to the epidemic. Tours cancelled, appearances at festivals, everything came to a halt." - David Wilkins

Video Nasties - Dominion

It almost feels like such a perfect pairing that it would have been done already, but to the best of my knowledge, Video Nasties are the first band to meld schlock-horror/slasher movies with metal at such a fundamental level that it exists in their name. What's equally perfect is the rush you get from the driving, stabbing (no pun intended) riffs and swaggering, ballsy rhythms of their new record. You might not be surprised to hear they've got some of the best merch in the game, too. You know what to do – Sam Houlden

Wares - Survival

Everything was looking up for the dynamic Edmonton rock outfit Wares. In February, they announced that they'd signed with the venerable Mint Records for the release of their long-awaited sophomore album Survival in late April. The record's first single, "Surrender Into Open Arms," displayed in brilliant relief all the touchpoints that make this group so captivating, alternating between caustic noise-punk outbursts and lush, shoegazey soundscapes without ever losing its pop footing. Cassia J. Hardy's ambitions for the release were direct and defiant, early on dedicating the album to "decolonial activists, anti-fascist agitators, [and] prairie queers fighting for community and a better life." The work promised both the personal and political. With "Living Proof", Hardy sought to capture her headspace after gender-affirming surgery. On the title track, Wares tore into the land-defiling Alberta oil sector at the height of Canada's pipeline fight. This is an important record, and on that should have been toured relentlessly, with its resounding vigour and bleeding-edge politics resonating through small clubs, concert halls, and festival stages across the country… but that's all on hold due to the pandemic. If you're looking for somewhere to pitch a few dollars this Friday, may I humbly suggest you give Wares' Survival a shot. - Adam White