It seems like not that long ago that we were ringing in the New Year. And yet, January is almost over already! Amid the hubbub of the start of 2021 and the presidential inauguration, quite a few artists released awesome new tunes! Let’s check out the top releases of the month.
1/1: The Dirty Nil – Fuck Art
Canadian rockers The Dirty Nil helped us kick 2021 off with a bang when they dropped Fuck Art at the stroke of midnight. If you missed it, we also interviewed the band last week: Kyle shared some of the band’s concert history, including their recent ‘Virtual Tour’ and some of the most epic shows they’ve played, like opening for The Who. The Dirty Nil don’t have any upcoming shows or streams announced as of yet, but an album like this is too good not to play live ASAP, so I’m sure we’ll get shows as soon as it’s safe again!
1/15: Beach Bunny – Blame Game EP
Despite just releasing an album last February, Beach Bunny is back again with the four track EP Blame Game. Admittedly, I’m not super familiar with the band’s catalog, but I absolutely love this new EP and can see myself listening to it over and over again. The band had many tour dates scheduled for 2020, both in the US and the UK, as well as at some festivals. As of now, some of the festivals and the UK dates are on for 2021.
1/15: Get Tuff – in sickness and in hell
For those who aren’t familiar, Get Tuff is the solo project of bassist RB Roe, and in sickness and in hell is Get Tuff’s debut album. Roe is usually on the road playing bass in various bands (The Weak Days, Jetty Bones, and Save Face), but don’t expect Get Tuff to sound like any of those bands. According to Roe, Get Tuff is “a reminder that there is strength in vulnerability and there is an innate humor in the depths of despair that, as a person with mental illness, can come from things that others may deem small and benign.” The album itself makes for a really interesting and incredible listen. It’s unclear if Get Tuff will be playing many shows in the future given how busy Roe is, but for the next few days at least, you can check out the replay of their release show on Twitch.
1/15: Frank Iero and the Future Violents – Heaven is a Place, This is a Place EP
The fifteenth sure was a popular day to release music this month. Among the day’s releases was the new EP from Frank Iero and the Future Violents. Heaven is a Place, This is a Place includes 4 tracks, two of which were released as singles last year, a “Losing My Religion” cover, and “Sewerwolf.” The first half of the EP (“Violence” and “Sewerwolf”) is as heavy as the song titles suggest. The transition from “Sewerwolf” to the R.E.M. cover was unexpected, but then “Losing My Religion” flowed perfectly into the last song, aptly titled “Record Ender.” Heaven is a Place, This is a Place comes as a follow up to 2019’s Barriers. Given Iero’s touring commitments with My Chemical Romance, as well as members of the Future Violents also being in other bands, the next FIATV shows are TBD.
1/22: Nominee – Outset
Just this past Friday, Austin five-piece Nominee dropped Outset, a 7-track acoustic release. Prior to Outset, the band’s most recent album was 2017’s Drag Me Out. The band also released a single, “Hypertension,” in 2019, and a split EP with Sundressed in 2018. Outset features acoustic reimaginings of “Lock & Key” from the 2018 split EP and “Stay” from their 2017 album, as well as 5 new tracks. Of the new tracks, “January” and “All Caught Up” are my favorites. The band was set to tour with Smartpunk labelmates Keep Flying last year, though COVID derailed those plans ☹️. Hopefully we can catch them out on the road this year or next!
1/22: Camp Trash – Downtiming
Though I usually find myself waiting for the hype to die down a bit before checking out the newest band everyone is talking about, I decided to give Camp Trash a listen now rather than wait. And boy am I glad I did! The EP is only four songs, but for a debut it’s pretty impressive. From the looks of it, the band is already working on a new album, so Camp Trash is definitely one to watch.
1/29: The Sonder Bombs – Clothbound
Clothbound is out as of midnight, and I’ve had it on repeat all morning! Clothbound, The Sonder Bomb’s sophomore album, is out today via Take This to Heart Records (US)/Big Scary Monsters (UK)/ Dew Process (AUS). This album is the perfect follow up to their debut, Modern Female Rockstar, and is available wherever you get your tunes. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our interview with Willow and Jimmy of The Sonder Bombs about all things concerts, + which songs from the record their most excited to play live.
Playlist
The albums mentioned above are only a few of the amazing releases from January 2021. Check out the playlist below for all the best new tunes released this month, and be sure to give it a follow, as we’ll be updating it with new releases every Monday!
Know something we missed? Feel free to leave a comment below. Have your own tunes coming out soon? Visit our Contact Us page to find out how to let us know!