CIRCLE JERKS x DESCENDENTS

Circle Jerks | Descendents | Split 7" | 3hive.com
Circle Jerks | Descendents | Split 7" | 3hive.com

When you’re scrolling through many emails trying to get caught up but also not miss anything and you come across “CIRCLE JERKS x DESCENDENTS release split cover EP today…” you stop everything you are doing and buy it and immediately, anxiously anticipate its arrival.

The split EP is in honor of their co-headlining tour that starts on March 15 in Tempe, AZ (you can find the rest of the tour dates below). It’s just as amazing as you can imagine it to be. It has Descendents doing the Circle Jerks’ “Red Tape,” “I Want Some Skank,” and “Beverly Hills.” As well as Circle Jerks doing Descendents’ “Kabuki Girl” and “Hope.”

You can get this from the bands during the tour and online via Trust Records. It is not available in any other way. GO GET THIS NOW!

Circle Jerks + Descendents Live Dates: 

March 15 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre (SOLD OUT)
March 16 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater (SOLD OUT)
March 17 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
March 19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
March 20 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
March 22 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s (SOLD OUT)
March 23 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues (SOLD OUT)
March 24 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
March 26 – Fayetteville, AR – JJ’s Live
March 27 – New Orleans, LA – Civic Theatre
March 29 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live (SOLD OUT)
March 30 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live (SOLD OUT)
March 31 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues (SOLD OUT)
April 2 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Heaven (SOLD OUT)
April 3 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl (SOLD OUT)
April 5 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz (SOLD OUT)
April 6 – Richmond, VA – The National (SOLD OUT)
April 7 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live (SOLD OUT)
April 9 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place (SOLD OUT)
April 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
April 12 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
April 13 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount (SOLD OUT)

w/ Adolescents

Blab School

Blab School | Blab School | 3hive.com
Blab School | Blab School | 3hive.com

Blab School is a rad new band out of North Carolina. The band consists of Ryan Seagrist (Discount, The Kitchen), Elizabeth Killian (Teens In Trouble, Glowing Stars), Dave Cantwell (Analogue, Cold Sides, In the Year of the Pig), and Fikri Yucel (Veronique Diabolique). I found out about these guys when I read “FOR FANS OF: Bad Religion, Buzzcocks, Descendants, Drive Like Jehu, The Faction, The Fucking Champs, Gang of Four, Green Day, The Hives, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, The Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav, Lightning Bolt, Meatbodies, Melt-Banana, Metz, Osees, Pipe, Pissed Jeans, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Superchunk, The Thermals” on Fort Lowell’s Instagram page, teasing their debut album. I was able to get my ears on a sneak peek from my friends at Fort Lowell, and I have been hooked ever since.

We are beyond stoked to bring you the premiere of the first single, “Scrolls”, from their incredible debut, self-titled album. “Scrolls” exceeded all my expectations from the list of “for fans of” above. It is a burner from the get-go with punishing drums, chunky bass lines, and razor-sharp guitars, sounding like Pretty Girls Make Graves meets Superchunk!

Blab School comes out in June via Fort Lowell Records. This is a must have record! You can pre-order it here and pre-save “Scrolls” here. Enjoy.

FEN FEN

FEN FEN | National Threat | 3hive.com
FEN FEN | National Threat | 3hive.com

Detroit’s FEN FEN are near and dear to me. They are one of the first bands I played on my Sunday night radio show, The Virus on Radio 3hive (shameless plug). They released an incredible self-titled EP in late 2022 and are now releasing their debut long-player, National Threat, in May via Sweet Time Records.

Check out their first single, “Bub” (below); it’s an in-your-face, hardcore-punk blast that ends way too soon. I can’t wait for National Threat to drop, and I can’t recommend FEN FEN high enough. Enjoy.

SNõõPER

Snooper | Super Snooper | 3hive.com
Snooper | Super Snooper | 3hive.com

Remember 2013? 10+ years ago, a Northwest Indiana band started something odd, catchy, edgy and wacky in a stick-it-to-the-man type of way. Egg Punk, ever heard of it?  If you have, you can thank Egg Punk legends The Coneheads for the birth of this odd subgenre of punk that features cheap synths, frantic drum machines, and sarcastic vocals. 

Years later we have a project called Snõõper out of Nashville that channels the original ideas and sounds of this movement, taking obvious inspiration from The Coneheads’ pacing and lyrical flow. Their 2023 debut album, Super Snõõper, is a fast-paced Egg Punk album that feels like ADHD personified in the best possible way. This album gives off a lot of Gen Z energy – hyper, energetic, cynical, and youthful. 

The track “Powerball” (below) gives an energy that makes you want to walk away from your workstation and start to dance in the break room. The whole album is a quick listen, clocking at 22 minutes and 58 seconds. That can feel like a lot when you’re in the second half of this album. The track “Music for Spies” wastes no time, and gives no time to relax. Moments like this can make it feel like the album is never going to end. But, by the time it’s over, I feel like I need more.

Overall this project is a positive for the genre. The sound makes me want to explore Egg Punk even more, which has me digging into Prison Affair or The Coneheads for their take on the oddball genre. Looking forward to future projects by these guys. 

OSEES

OSEES | Intercepted Message | 3hive.com
OSEES | Intercepted Message | 3hive.com

With each new OSEES album there are always two questions: 1) Will they change the spelling of their name again? 2) What musical genre pairing will John Dwyer make you fall in love with this time? 

With Intercepted Message, they stick with the OSEES name as they have on their last three albums (they’ve gone through six name variations in the past 20 years). And this time, Dwyer cooks up his classic punk/garage sound and iconic vocal package and pairs it with keyboardist Tomas Dolas, aka Mr. Elevator Synth, to create sometimes subtle and other times chaotic experimental synth disco and new wave-inspired beats with weird, wacky, and sometimes uncalled-for lyrics. The resulting heavy, creative synth sounds make you want to tap your foot occasionally but also make you scratch your head when followed up with more mellow tracks that feel out of place. 

“Goon” and the title track give us a taste of the potential of this sound, only to be followed up by tracks like “Die Laughing” and “Chaus Heart” that have their own moments but stray away from the already established synth disco sound, making them feel out of place. Halfway through the album, Dwyer and Dolas start to explore and experiment with this new style by adding more layers. The track “The Fish Needs a Bike” gives you some of the most unique and odd content in this album by adding strong garage psych touches that makes you think acts like Ty Seagal, KGATLW and Frankie and the Witch Fingers. 

Each time I listen to this album I keep finding something new I like about it, whether it’s some of the best experimental synth tracks of the year or some unique experimental sounds that the band could easily capitalize on in future projects. On the opposite side, the experimental sounds sometimes veer into chaos with so many colliding sounds and layers of noise. My own personal experience with the fan base suggests this might be a positive for OSEES diehards. Overall, this project is a great example of an experimental album that will most likely be looked back on as a springboard for ideas and sounds that Dwyer and Dolas will evolve on in the future.  

Intercepted Message is out now via In The Red Records. You can also get it from the 3hive Record Lounge.

Double Life

Double Life | Indifferent Stars | 3hive.com
Double Life | Indifferent Stars | 3hive.com

Los Angeles duo Double Life are channeling all the goods from 90’s post-hardcore, including powerful, groove-heavy drums, spacey vocals, chunky bass lines, and fuzzed-out guitar. Their first single and title track, “Indifferent Stars” (below), reminds me of bands like Jawbox and Failure with a bit of “Seven”-era Sunny Day Real Estate-like ferocity.

Double Life’s self-released, 3-song debut EP, Indifferent Stars is, out on January 24. It will leave you wanting for more. Here’s to hoping for more! Enjoy.

Malcría

Malcría | Fantasías Hystéricas | 3hive.com
Malcría | Fantasías Hystéricas | 3hive.com

Mexico City’s Malcría do not pull any punches on their blistering 8 songs in 15 minutes new album Fantasías Histéricas. It’s an onslaught of relentless hardcore punk (like early Suicidal Tendencies on speed) that demands to be spun on repeat.

Check out “Precipicio” (below) for a taste. Fantasías Histéricas is out now via Iron Lung Records and also digitally from Malcría’s Bandcamp page. We will have it as well in the next couple of weeks.

It is a badass record! Enjoy.

Feeling Figures

Feeling Figures | Migration Magic | 3hive.com
Feeling Figures | Migration Magic | 3hive.com

Montreal’s Feeling Figures touch about every “indie” genre on their debut long-player, Migration Magic, which is out now on K/perennialdeath. There’s garage punk (“Dream Death”), jangle pop (“Across The Line”), the noisy Sonic Youth-ish “Sink”, and even a saloon-style piano ballad (“I Should Tell You”). Not to mention that every song is covered in an infectious direct to VHS grime.

Migration Magic is rad from start to finish. There’s really no other way to say it. I wish I would have gotten to it sooner, it would have been in my top releases of the year for sure. I am sorry I slept on it!

Go buy Migration Magic from the Figs Bandcamp page or from us right now. Enjoy.




Corker

Corker | Falser Truths | 3hive.com
Corker | Falser Truths | 3hive.com

Cincinnati’s Corker bring their fresh take (a little shimmer and fuzz) on post-punk (whatever that means anymore) on their debut long player Falser Truths and a rad next step from their 2021 debut EP A Bell That Seems To Mourn.

Falser Truths is 9 tracks of fuzz with gauzy bass and vocals behind razor-sharp guitars. It’s an ass kicker! Check out their singles below for a taste. Falser Truths is out on Friday via Feel It Records. Enjoy.

LANDOWNER

LANDOWNER | Escape the Compound | 3hive.com

Massachusetts 5-piece LANDOWNER’s new album – Escape the Compound – sounds like what I imagine a Jello Biafra and Devo or Suburban Lawns collaboration would sound like. My daughter thinks that Mr. Shaw’s vocals sound like Napoleon Dynamite.

Dumb comparisons aside, Escape the Compound is a kick ass, hyperactive, post-punk album and it’s well worth your time.

You can listen to “Heat Stroke” and “Victim of a Narcissist’s Tactics” (below) for a taste. Escape the Compound is out now on born yesterday records. Enjoy.