Thanks to the listening public, and underground musicians everywhere, for a great year of radio. Tony Rocky Horror presents, in no particular order, 20 of 60 Watts’ favorite album and EP releases of 2018.
Blue Youth — Dead Forever
Released via Grind Central Records // Listen:
Blue Youth unleash their debut full-length Dead Forever, an energetic fusion of noise rock and post-hardcore. Favorite track: Black Lung
Wrong — Feel Great
Released via Relapse Records // Listen:
Miami powerhouse Wrong are back with their punishing combo of noise rock and metal. Feel Great is both dynamic and heavyweight. Favorite track: Gape
KEN Mode — Loved
Released via Season of Mist // Listen:
KEN Mode drop their darkest album yet. Loved is essential 2018 noise rock. Favorite track: Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should
Bummer — Holy Terror
Released via Learning Curve Records // Listen:
Holy Terror is Kansas City noise rock trio Bummer‘s short, sweet, and brutal full length debut. Favorite track: HeXXX Games
Vein — Errorzone
Released via Closed Casket Activities // Listen:
5-piece Boston metalcore band Vein drops one of the more intense records you’ll find on this list, Errorzone. Listen for the occasional hint of early Deftones. Favorite track: Errorzone
Pretty Please — Fur Model
Released independently by Pretty Please // Listen:
Atlanta trio Pretty Please are the band responsible for one of 2018’s most underrated noise rock albums, Fur Model. Equal parts heavy and well-written. Favorite track: I’m Glad You’re Dead
Tongue Party — Looking for a Painful Death
Released via Learning Curve Records // Listen:
Minneapolis’ Tongue Party hold nothing back on their latest full-length. Fast, noisy, and catchy. Favorite track: Shit Dead
Hair Puller — Old Friend
Released via Accident Prone Records // Listen:
Portland noise-rockers Hair Puller come out swinging with Old Friend. All killer, no filler. Favorite track: 2000 Doubts
Exhalants — Exhalants
Released via Self Sabotage Records // Listen:
Austin, TX continues exporting some of the United States’ best noise rock, as Exhalants drop their first full-length. Slow-burning and layered, this record increases in appeal with each listen. Favorite track: Punishers
Save Face — Merci
Released via Epitaph // Listen:
Merci is one of 2018’s most pleasant surprises. New Jersey’s Save Face weave a compelling narrative through a spectacularly-composed alternative/emo lens. Favorite track: Jonesin’
Daughters — You Won’t Get What You Want
Released via Ipecac Recordings // Listen:
Daughters return with their first LP in upwards of a decade. You Won’t Get What You Want showcases their evolution as a band, and shows us what happens when a band chooses patience over rushing an album. Favorite track: The Lords Song
Gouge Away — Burnt Sugar
Released via Deathwish // Listen:
Gouge Away bring us a hardcore album that’s as honest and vulnerable as it is aggressive and furious. Favorite track: Slow Down
Drug Church — Cheer
Released via Pure Noise Records // Listen:
Cheer sees Drug Church push themselves up a level. Catchy punk from Berkeley. Favorite track: Unlicensed Guidance Counselor
Fucked and Bound — Suffrage
Released via Atomic Action Records // Listen:
From the Seattle underground, Fucked and Bound release their snarling debut full-length, Suffrage. Hardcore punk at its most raw. Favorite track: Dead Bop
Super Thief — Eating Alone in My Car
Released via Learning Curve Records // Listen:
Austin, TX noise punk 4-piece Super Thief are back with their follow-up to the 2017 album, Stuck. Favorite track: Gone Country
Converge — Beautiful Ruin
Released via Deathwish // Listen:
Converge drops four tracks from the recording sessions for the 2017 album, The Dusk in Us. The result is a concise EP that packs a major punch. Favorite track: Permanent Blue
The Armed — Only Love
Released via Throatruiner Records // Listen:
Only Love is a noisy wrecking-ball of an album. Detroit’s the Armed push boundaries and blaze their own trail. Favorite track: Ultraglass
Transient, Bastard Noise — Sources of Human Satisfaction
Released via Six Weeks // Listen:
Northwest grindcore act Transient collaborate with Bastard Noise to create one of the most crushing albums on the list. Favorite track: Cave Mouth
Zeta — Magia Infinita
Released via IFB Records // Listen:
Zeta from Venezuela release their long-awaited experimental punk masterpiece, Magia Infinita. Favorite track: Completar
STORM{O} — ERE
Released via Shove Records // Listen:
Italian hardcore band STORM{O} pull no punches with ERE. Pure, unbridled energy. Favorite track: Attacco