punk this week: eddy current suppression ring, pinky tex + 16 more

Hey, it’s Punk This Week, see/saw’s recommendations column shouting out the best new punk and rock'n'roll records. I hope you’re doing good.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring released a new full-length this week. Toody Cole returned with a new record under the name Pinky Tex. There’s new stuff from Siyahkal, Full Size, Concrete Lawn, the Bug Club, Hez, Patois Counselors, M.A.T.B., and so many more. It’s a very, very good week for new punk records.

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Eddy Current Suppression Ring: In Light of Recent Events [self-released]

When Eddy Current Suppression Ring released “Swimming Hole” strictly as a music video last year, it felt like their latest fiery missive as an incredible singles and loosies band. They’ve crafted perfect albums in the past two decades, but have you heard the singles comp So Many Things? “Swimming Hole” was a stomping Song of the Summer candidate and an exceptional return to form, followed shortly thereafter by a 7” and some benefit comp appearances. The Melbourne band’s modus operandi is staunchly casual despite their feverish fanbase; I just assumed they didn’t care much about getting into “album mode” at this point in their trajectory. Maybe all the new material they’d been playing at their recent shows in Australia would get intermittently scattered. In light of recent events, I realize it’s never safe to assume.

One of the best punk bands on the planet surprise-released their first full-length in seven years this week, and it’s their best album since 2008. Part of this record’s success is in Danny, Mikey, and Rob Solid’s locked-in drive and Brendan’s hollering. Bangers like “Bop,” “Hard to Be Moved,” and “Swimming Hole” are made even more massive by the album’s exceptional sequencing. Eddy Current Suppression Ring have such a defined sound, and even as they follow a template of sorts, this is a record that heats up and cools off. Ballads rise to a boil, jams unfold gradually, and they never overturn the same hook twice. 

Every song on this record is great to perfect, but there’s something specifically impactful about Brendan singing “what I’d give for another day with you” on “My World.” The final stretch of the album deals with love and loss, and the band stays upbeat even with shadows everywhere. Eddy Current Suppression Ring’s music always did have the ability to make existing in the present that much easier.