10 Great Punk Albums from Spring/Summer 2025
Last week, Treble announced some changes, one being the halt to a New Music Friday-pinned dash to catch all the releases hitting streaming shelves, which we needed to give ourselves a break from. But the other, more important change, was the launch of a new series of quarterly columns highlighting different niches within the broader macrocosm of music that we cover. The first up is the launch of Smash It Up, on all things punk.
Punk is a funny genre, relatively easy to define on the surface but much more complicated when you start looking at where it’s been ever since Joey Ramone counted to four. I hold a certain appreciation for the punk of the late ’70s—that this column is named after a song by The Damned should tell you as much. But also the definition of punk in the ’70s changed rapidly, post-punk quickly emerging from punk, bands like The Slits and The Raincoats turning the formula upside down and even pioneers like Television taking a much more progressive approach than some of their New York neighbors did. Back when I was in college, I remember friends of mine debating what the first punk band or song was—it would usually start with MC5 and then go backwards through The Kinks and the Beatles and I think maybe the ultimate candidate was Little Richard, but my memory’s a little fuzzy. It’s a pretty solid answer though.
This isn’t the first punk column Treble’s ever had. About a decade ago, A.T. Bossenger wrote a column called Full Disclosure, and they did a great job of keeping their finger on the pulse of all things loud and fast. And after several years of scouring Bandcamp for punk records and finding lots of great hidden gems, I decided to finally pick up the reins. If we can temporarily put aside any jokes about a repressive regime being good for punk, there’s a whole hell of a lot of outstanding punk music being made right now. My definition of punk isn’t rigid—in this very inaugural column, it comprises everything from loose and playful pranksterism to raucous power chord pummel and lo-fi post-punk jangle. If it feels punk, in other words, then that’s good enough for me.
For this first installment, I’ve mostly left off some of the higher profile punk-adjacent records that I’ve already written about more extensively, like Lifeguard or The Armed. Though I’m not necessarily saying I’ll do that every time. But with how many amazing under-the-radar records have arrived over the past six months, I already have a lot of catching up to do. So no need to draw this out any further—here are 10 of the best punk albums from spring and summer 2025—plus one favorite from the archives. Let’s make some noise.
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
Artificial Go – Musical Chairs
Artificial Go is, like a lot of artists on the Feel It Records roster (including here in this column), a post-punk band from Cincinnati, but that alone doesn’t give enough information about the playfully off-kilter sound of the group. Their sound is less Factory and more of a jangly, jittery playground where elements of The Raincoats, The Slits, Dolly Mixture and Au Pairs come out to cause good natured mischief. Scrappy twee-pop smooshes up against wobbly dancepunk, vocalist Angie Willcutt making surprisingly catchy fodder out of sing-speak schoolyard chants about red convertibles. Artificial Go never take themselves too seriously, their approach never overly polished, and it’s a refreshing summertime spin.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Charm School – Debt Forever
I’ll confess that I first had Charm School mistaken for Bay Area jangle pop group Chime School, another favorite around these parts. But this band of bruisers, who hail from Louisville, Kentucky, are more steeped in the nastier edge of post-punk with noise rock’s brutality and garage rock rawness at the edges. Their debut album Debt Forever is an absolute ripper, maintaining a singular aesthetic while switching up their style frequently, from the dizzying garage wrecker of a title opener opener to the minute-long pigfuck basher “Boycott Everything Everywhere,” whose lyrics comprise the title over and over, and the surfy post-punk of “Crime Time.” (Also: Gotta love a band with song titles like “Crime Time.”) It’s a thrilling set of riffs rife with cynical, sardonic sneers, but in rare moments like “Without a Doubt,” Chime School prove themselves capable of genuine beauty—a side they never overexpose, showcasing just enough to let us know there’s something more tender and contemplative beneath that hardened exterior.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Civic – Chrome Dipped
Civic gave away what they were all about with the cover art of their 2023 album Taken By Force, depicting a surfer riding a wave. Indeed, the group have a knack for incorporating infectiously surfy riffs into their garagey, proto-punk, but with their move to ATO Records for third album Chrome Dipped, the Melbourne group explore more shades of nuance and embrace a more versatile approach overall, offering up a proper ballad (“Kingdom Come”) amid gorgeous melancholy jangle (“Gulls Way”) and some great slide licks (“Swing of the Noose”), juxtaposed against more than their share of straightforward three-chord rippers. But nothing stuns quite like “Starting All the Dogs Off,” a tense slow burner that gradually makes its way toward a climax of feral barks and explosive release. There’s no denying the old-school aesthetic in what Civic does, but Chrome Dipped finds them embracing a progressive streak that somehow works brilliantly within that shade of ’77.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
CLAMM – Serious Acts
Melbourne’s CLAMM first caught my attention with 2022’s Care, a raw and rowdy yet focused set of brawny punk rock with more than its share of saxophone to go around. Plus, as you can probably tell by the selections on offer in this debut round-up, I have an affinity for Australian punk—and given the region’s track record, can you blame me? Serious Acts doesn’t have as much saxophone, but the opening throb of synthesizer on leadoff track “And I Try” does in part tease the band’s growth on their third album, which is wound dangerously tight with tension, to the degree that they’re rife to snap at any moment. But then again, it’s not like the band ever felt the need to hold back before, and brooding moments such as “Problem Is” and “Blinded” reveal something more deliciously dark in their throttling, noisy assault. But sub-two-minute wreckers like “Bear the Brunt” show they can still bash furiously at their instruments with the best of them.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Final Dose – Under the Eternal Shadow
Three things: 1. Colin Dempsey tipped me off to this crusty blend of black metal and punk earlier this year, and it’s been a go-to ripper ever since. 2. As such, it made an appearance in my metal column, Shadow of the Horns, since it’s as much a metal album as a punk record. (This probably won’t be the last time this happens.) 3. It absolutely kicks ass.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Living Dream – Absolute Devotion
Indianapolis jangle-pop outfit Living Dream are less punk in the punch-you-in-the-face variety, more punk in the Tom-Verlaine-on-a-four-track variety. The band’s psychedelic-tinged guitar chime is simultaneously hypnotic and infectious, rife with melodic hooks while cloaked in a haze that maintains more than a little mystique amid their glorious layered guitars. The persistent but light-footed stomp of “Seeing White” evokes the lo-fi post-punk weirdness of Calgary’s Women, while the driving “Lift a Feather” is a persistent groove of paisley psychedelic jangle, guitars splashing and cascading over each other in a beautifully choreographed arrangement. And yet that fuzzy, D.I.Y. sensibility somehow only makes it sound that much better. I’m not saying they should never upgrade their recording methods, but hey, no hurry or anything.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Motorbike – Kick It Over
There’s a non-zero chance that Motorbike’s sophomore album Kick It Over ends up being my most-listened-to album of 2025. The Cincinnati band—which includes The Drin/The Serfs‘ Dylan McCartney as one of their two vocalists—craft effortlessly infectious vintage punk rock in the vein of The Saints with hooks to spare, even when they lean a little heavier on Fun House-style mayhem on a standout moment like “Western Front.” When firing on all cylinders, they live up to the raucous and rebellious attitude that a band called Motorbike absolutely should have—it’s the sound of street racing, smoke-filled dives, broken pool cues and switchblades. But when they trade a little bit of scuzz for some jangly arpeggios and soaring choruses on “Cold Sweat,” “Quite Nice” and “What Have I Done,” they likewise stake their claim as preternatural power pop prodigies. This kind of muscular, melodic punk never goes out of style.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Puffer – Street Hassle
If you’re in search of even more motorcycle-friendly punk ‘n’ roll, then Puffer is exactly what you need. Brawny, chugging, punk-fucking-rock, emphasis on the rock, Street Hassle doesn’t so much bring to mind the Lou Reed album of the same name but actual street hassles—ruffians in denim and leather wreaking havoc on two wheels. Though their singer delivers every line with a throaty menacing bark, Puffer showcase an impressive versatility throughout, riding a cool bass groove on “Cement Shoes,” slowing the tempo just enough to deliver a more infectious melody on “Never Enough,” and palm-muting their way to glory on “Don’t Wanna Be Like Me.” Jonah Falco of Fucked Up, who also mastered the record, said in their bio, “You’ll go deaf before you get bored of it.” With anthems this loud and this fun, Puffer might well prove him right.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Pyrex – Body
Apple Music classifies Pyrex as “metal,” which at first struck me as slightly off—this band is clearly punk! I mean, right? Aren’t they? But the more I listened, the more I started to hear echoes of early thrash metal and black metal demos in their raw and aggressive lo-fi roar. I’m still inclined to say that the New York band most definitely isn’t metal, their old-school riffs and surplus of attitude occasionally veering into the darkness of deathrock and otherworldly weirdness of psychedelia. But then a song like “Coma” comes along, somewhere between Motörhead and Hellhammer, or if you’re in search of a more contemporary comparison, Devil Master, and then I start to question whether I’m being too rigid about the whole thing. It only matters if you want it to, but what I can tell you with absolute certainty is that all eight songs and 16 minutes of Body kick ass.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Yass – Feel Safe
Punk and dystopia go hand in hand—Devo had that principle down back in the ’70s. And Germany’s Yass feel like descendants of those Akron conceptualists, only they sound a lot more like the replicants that’ll take over once the de-evolution of humanity is complete. Pairing noise rock and synth-punk with a hypnotic krautrock pulse, Yass is cold and menacing, like a couple of T-1000s shape-shifting their way through an industrial punk mixtape, live on Skynet. They’re not above kitsch, as the vocodered robo-vox in “NoBot” illustrates, but more often than not Yass mine much darker and more menacing territory, as on “T.I.V.”, which feels like doom is creeping ever closer by the second.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
The classics never go out of syle
Slant – 1집 (2021)
I wrote about this album just a few months ago back when we highlighted Iron Lung as our label of the month, and it’s remained in my rotation, a near-perfect blast of hardcore punk mayhem from Seoul. At 17 minutes long, it’s lean but vicious, each furious track doing maximum damage in 90 seconds or less, the ones that skew closest to two minutes sounding like absolute epics. But there are few frills here, no dramatic intros, no breakbeat samples, no alt-rock choruses. This is just pure, unfiltered hardcore punk at its most potent, and when it sounds this good, all you need is a few power chords and a vocalist with fire in their throat.
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