{"id":449633,"date":"2025-12-15T23:05:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/449633\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T23:05:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:05:53","slug":"5-must-hear-new-releases-from-phoenix-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/449633\/","title":{"rendered":"5 must-hear new releases from Phoenix bands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long drives are great for getting in touch with yourself. You have scenery to look at, reflect on, and the miles go by either fast or slow, depending on your frame of mind. I drive across the country twice a year. It\u2019s a long drive, and I won\u2019t bore you with why I drive from Phoenix<\/a> to Maine (or Maine to Phoenix), but I\u2019ve grown to love the drive.<\/p>\n

Currently, my travel playlist (which has the clever title, \u201cTravelling Tunes\u201d)\u00a0 is over 1000 songs. More than enough to listen to different songs<\/a> that I like for the entire trip if I wanted to, and I\u2019m always adding to it. On the most recent trip from Maine to Phoenix, I decided to use some of my time to listen to new music from Phoenix bands, and as I did, I added some of it to my playlist. However, I didn\u2019t add some of it, and here\u2019s my reasoning why.<\/p>\n

\"\"Knife\u2019s Edge celebrates the release of their LP, Let The Hard Times Roll, on Friday, August 29, at Yucca Tap Room.<\/p>\n

Knife\u2019s Edge<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cLet The Hard Times Roll\u201d<\/strong><\/a>
The first local band with a 2025 release that I listened to on the list was Knife\u2019s Edge. These dudes are singlehandedly trying to bring Oi music back to the desert and doing it with good measure, too. I listened to their latest record, \u201cLet The Hard Times Roll,\u201d driving across the top of New York state on I-90.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019ve ever driven on I-90, which I get after dropping down from Vermont and going through Troy, New York (birthplace of Uncle Sam), you\u2019ll probably remember that it is kind of pretty. There is nothing pretty about Knife\u2019s Edge, and when I listen to Oi music, which I don\u2019t do often enough, I don\u2019t want it to be pretty. I want it to get my blood flowing, and Knife\u2019s Edge did just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLet The Hard Times Roll\u201d was good background music for the drive, though, and so much so that I listened to it twice all the way through, so it got me about forty or so miles past the first signs for the Erie Canal. I added two of the songs to the travelling mix right away. I really like the opening track, \u201cLast Chance,\u201d and \u201cInnocence Lost.\u201d Both of these have really great bass lines, and they sounded so good on the drive. Is there potential for more of them to be included on the list? Yes, but for now, I\u2019m sticking with these two. Kudos to the killer Blitz cover, too. \u201cSomeone\u2019s Gonna Die\u201d definitely gets the heart thumping faster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Redoubt\u2019s 2025 \u201cFor A Brighter Tomorrow\u201d<\/p>\n

Redoubt<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cFor A Brighter Tomorrow\u201d<\/strong><\/a>
Next up was Redoubt. This is a band I was not familiar with, except by name only. I\u2019ve heard good things about them around town for a few years now, and I feel like we might have even talked about playing a show with them back before my old band, The Father Figures, called it a day. Either way, I was excited to check it out, and I needed a little boost.<\/p>\n

Rangeley, Maine, to just west of Erie, Pennsylvania, makes for a long day, and it was getting dark as I crossed the border from New York into Pennsylvania. It seemed like a good time to try something new. Redoubt\u2019s latest EP, \u201cFor a Brighter Tomorrow,\u201d sounds really good, and the songs attack the ear in a way that I have always appreciated. In fact, I felt like I had heard it before. I think it might be the vocals. They are so familiar.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, this sense of familiarity is a bad thing, but Redoubt plays a style of music that I dig, and not a lot of bands do, so it still feels fresh. They are a mix of the heavier side of indie rock with a dash of \u201880s midwestern punk rock, and a sprinkle of \u201870s New York underground rock. I\u2019m hesitant to name specific bands, but I\u2019m guessing the folks in Redoubt have been listening to some of the same records that I like and probably for a long time.<\/p>\n

The first two tracks on \u201cFor a Brighter Tomorrow\u201d are rockin\u2019, but also not incredibly memorable. Maybe this is why I don\u2019t want to just lump them in with specific references. Both \u201cLeft Behind,\u201d which kicks in with a cool intro, and \u201cUndefined\u201d move, though, and again, the mix was excellent. This four-song EP holds up against just about anything I\u2019ve heard recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The song I like the most is \u201cLost Control.\u201d That one has a really good chance not only of making the Travelling Tunes playlist but also of being one that I get excited about when it comes on. I haven\u2019t added it yet, but the pangs of guilt are strong as I type this. The worst part about falling in love with local bands is that so often, they break your heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What I really need to do is see Redoubt live.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After resting up on the edge of Ohio and Pennsylvania, it was off in the pissing down rain to Rockford, Illinois. For those who are not into geography, this means skirting the bottom of Lake Erie for a while before crossing through Indiana and the bottom half of Greater Chicagoland. It was one of the two relatively short days on my trip, and the perfect time for Overstand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"From left to right, Roy Valencia, Todd Hamilton, Ben Barnes and Ren Cullen make up Overstand.<\/p>\n

Overstand<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cTake Control\u201d<\/strong><\/a>
Another of the heavier bands on the edge of the punk rock and East Coast hardcore vibe, Overstand recently released \u201cTake Control.\u201d These dudes bring the power, have killer gang vocal backups, and the rhythm section is one of my favorites in town. Heck, I like everything about these guys and \u201cTake Control\u201d was fun as hell to discover while driving through a soaking wet Indiana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nothing against northern Indiana, but it\u2019s not the most exciting drive in the world. Having songs like \u201cThe Pressure\u201d and \u201cThe Voiceless\u201d to listen to is an added bonus. There is also a killer breakdown in the first song, \u201cSuffocate,\u201d that really sets the tone and gets me going.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since I was white-knuckling it a bit through the truck traffic and pissing down rain, I had to check my aggression level during the 24-minute record. Due to its brevity, I listened to this one twice through as well. I\u2019m not going to say that I loved it both times because I did realize that I was ready for something else about halfway through the second pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is typical for me with the East Coast hardcore stuff. From where I stand, it is way more fun to play this music than to listen to it. Small doses of this heavy cousin of punk rock are always fun, and that\u2019s why I added one track from Take Control to the Travelling Tunes playlist right away, and that was \u201cShort Fuse State.\u201d It\u2019s quick, hard and packs a punch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was just one song, and it was Iowa, but Tripolar\u2019s \u201cYou\u2019re Not Listening\u201d has me totally intrigued. I can\u2019t add it to the travel playlist just yet because, well, see the above comment about local bands breaking your heart, but I want to hear more. They are reportedly releasing another EP soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re Not Listening\u201d was a cool, bratty, romp in the punk rock park kind of thing. I really like how the female vocalist exuded the \u201cI\u2019m in total control\u201d attitude that the song packs like a double-bagged mule for Sister Sarah. If this band has more songs like this one in their back pockets, we\u2019re all going to know who they are in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As I sped (not really, I\u2019m a pretty responsible driver) through Nebraska, I realized that I genuinely liked everything I had heard so far. It was refreshing, in a way, but it also occurred to me that I am very stuck in my ways. I could have just made a playlist with all these records on it, but would I ever listen to that playlist again? Probably not. I will, however, listen to the one I made of bands I loved in 1985 over and over and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Old Animals\u2019 self-titled 2025 release.<\/p>\n

Old Animals \u2014 Self-titled<\/strong> LP<\/strong><\/a>
Admittedly, I spent much of the time driving through Colorado listening to an audiobook, so I was in New Mexico when Old Animals\u2019<\/a> self-titled debut hit the van speakers. Of everything I\u2019ve heard so far, this is the best record in the bunch. It sounds fucking huge, and when \u201cBl\u0215d\u201d kicks in, which is the first song, I was in the right place at the right time. Sunset on the west side of Albuquerque is magic time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can put in some serious miles while listening to Old Animals. The eight songs come in at just over 50 minutes, and there is a lot of texture on these sonic walls. Fans of Neurosis, for example, or Mastodon will definitely get down with songs like \u201cHappy Drone\u201d or \u201cUntil the Bitter End,\u201d especially the latter for those who like the dark and heavy. As I listen, I can even hear a little Faith No More in there, too, which is not always my favorite thing, but it works here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOld Animals\u201d is definitely not a record that was just slapped together. There is genuine care and artistry at work here. It is apparent these dudes thought long and hard about the kind of band they wanted to be and the type of record they wanted to make. It\u2019s admirable, really, when the reality is such that most bands are searching, it seems, for that one song that will make it big and not a whole record of rippers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m truly not sure if I could pick a favorite song among the eight tracks. Each song is solid, and there were multiple times where I found myself banging my head to the excellent riffs and playing drums on the steering wheel. The guitars are perfectly crunchy and heavy throughout, but there is one moment on \u201cUnderserving Favor\u201d where they lock into a badass groove that shines a little brighter for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the track that made it to the Travelling Tunes playlist right off the bat. \u201cHappy Drone\u201d has a chance, I think, and so does \u201cUntil the Bitter End.\u201d \u201cMonument\u201d is pretty badass, too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOld Animals\u201d is definitely a contender for repeated listens, and who knows, it might even be one of those records that becomes something I listen to for years to come. That\u2019s all you can really ask for from new music, isn\u2019t it? We all get stuck in the grooves of the records we love, for the most part, so when something new comes along that you want to listen to more than once, it\u2019s a fucking gift.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Go see these guys and buy this vinyl as soon as you can.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Thee MadCaps \u201cFigure It Out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thee MadCaps<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cFigure It Out\u201d<\/strong><\/a>
Next up was a complete change of pace from longtime local cool kids, Thee MadCaps. Like the Tripolar offering, it\u2019s just one song, but it is something catchy and even a little kooky. \u201cFigure It Out\u201d blends psychedelia and garage rock in a way that makes me think of what might happen if Jay Reatard and Syd Barrett were jamming in the great beyond. Thee MadCaps better be working on a full-length with this current lineup of the band because the combination of sounds they are putting together is just plain special.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFigure It Out\u201d went straight to the playlist and left me hoping there was more, as I realized that I was getting pretty close to Black Canyon City. It\u2019s always good to get to the end of a long road. Thanks for keeping me company on this one.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long drives are great for getting in touch with yourself. You have scenery to look at, reflect on,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":449634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[94381,5229,5643,1587,14838,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-449633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-album-reviews","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-arizona","11":"tag-az","12":"tag-local-music","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115726096477617321","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}