Punk of the 2010s Part 1
If the 90s and 2000s were when punk homogenized into easily consumable sects of branded sub-culture, typified by the rise of Hot Topic and the Warped Tour, the 2010s was when it all started to break back open and ooze back into the underground, exploring a thousand different combinations of genre aesthetic in the process. If bands as disparate as the Minutemen, Beat Happening, and the Butthole Surfers could all be considered “punk” in the 1980s, I would argue that bands as sonically ranging as the Men, Fucked Up, and Ramshackle Glory could be considered “punk” in the 2010s. Of course, the very nature of a list like this is somewhat antithetical to the spirit of punk, and the “heart” of the scene is arguably not located in the discographies of internationally touring bands, but rather in the thousands of local scenes and bands all over the country, and all over the world.
Though I’ll generally focus on the “bigger” bands, I’ll touch on some of the more localized scenes and bands I’ve experienced and enjoyed here and there. I’m also taking punk as a “big tent” approach; if people often consider a band “punk,” even tangentially, I’ll probably write about it. I’m not planning on having any real formal organization to this either. It’s vaguely chronological as I think through the bands that seemed to make an impact on the decade, and at times I’ll group bands together if they seem to be part of a specific scene or if there’s a thematic through line that I want to highlight. But mostly it’s just going to be a grab-bag of bands that I liked, or thought were interesting, thought represented something about the decade. The bands in this first section are mostly bands that I got into in the first half of the decade. In my early 20s, I was looking to break out of the uniformity of Fat Wreck Chords, Epitaph, and the “orgcore” that seemed to represent the 2000s for me. I was looking for bands that seemed to embody the same punk spirit, but were maybe a little rawer, or a little weirder, or a little more “subterranean” (though ironically most of these bands got much bigger than your average pop-punk band).
Anyway, before I just get to endless lists of bands, here are a few trends I expect to see continue into the next decade:
-More “solo” acts as people become increasingly atomized, ala acts like Erik Peterson (RIP) and Matt Pless. Natch, there’s always been solo acts in music, but I feel like this decade was when I started to see a lot of solo punk acts. It makes sense; often the songwriter is the real driver behind a band anyway, and it seems like it’s harder than ever to keep one of those together as, among other reasons, the prospects of making a living playing rock music are increasingly slim. I also wonder if it has something to do with the larger phenomenon of social atomization. At the risk of sounding like a grouchy old man, IRL community seems to be becoming increasingly scarce, as neoliberalism breaks down all the old social ties, and people turn to their computers or X-Boxes or Netflix for entertainment. On the other hand, home recording is easier and better than ever, so the barrier to entry for a solo artist is probably the lowest it’s ever been.
-A greater incorporation of electronic influences, ala The Armed. We’ll get to the Armed (and Melt Banana!) later, but I expect so see further incorporation of electronic elements in a variety of different forms and styles, whether that be the poppy Gameboycore that occasionally pops up in Bomb the Music Industry stuff, or glitched-out hardcore.
-Grassroots tours will consist of local festivals. Touring has already replaced album sales for a lot of the bigger acts as first file sharing and then streaming became primary ways that people listen to music. For smaller bands who have less draw on their own, however, it seems like one of the best options is to just hop around the many many regional underground festivals that seem to go throughout the summer. Strength in numbers and all that.
Kicking things off with one of the most ambitious bands of the 2010s, Titus Andronicus started the decade as critical darlings with the spectacular psuedo-concept album The Monitor and continues to put out albums, if to slightly less critical fanfare. I guess a band’s “critical darling” lifespan is only about 3 years or so. I like all of their albums, which all offer a slightly different take on their somewhat ramshackle, Replacements by way of Puccini* (each album also seems to get a little bit more influenced by 70s pub rock, for better or worse), but 2010s The Monitor really is something special (despite Patrick Stickles seeming ambivalence to it). Ostensibly a concept album about the Civil War, and featuring lengthy anthemic songs that seek to escape the confines of what “punk” constituted up to this point — routinely breaking the 7 minute plus mark, literary ambitions in the lyrics, a sound that seems to be equally indebted to punk, indie, and classic rock, concept albums… but also a clear foot in “dirtbag” signifiers like substance abuse and self loathing. Many of these qualities would be staples of the punk scene over the next decade — both DIY, indie, and mainstream.
*I have no idea if famed opera composer Puccini is actually an influence, I just wanted a reference that would get across their sense of scale and narrative depth.
Shortly after this band, birthed from the Copenhagen punk scene, started to make some waves on the indie media circuit, they were marred by speculation of ties to white nationalism — a Burzum button, a tattoo of a questionable band, some sketches one of the members made in high school. It’s…. difficult to say. I had kind of internalized the idea that this band had likely flirted with white nationalism as teenagers, but had recently espoused more left wing and pro-immigrant views, but the more I tried to research this, the less clear it became. I understand not wanting to be tied to the political leanings of your younger years (for a few months in college I thought I might be a libertarian — thanks South Park!) but also, is it really so hard to avoid mealy mouthed answers like “If people claim that I’m a Nazi, then it’s them who are the judgemental ones, not me” and just write your own version of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off?” Musically, the band is a great mix of dissonance, speed, and little bits of jagged melody (especially the early stuff), and I listened to them throughout the decade… but there are a lot of great bands, and I didn’t expect to feel so uneasy writing this.
I’ll leave them here in the hope that they continue to evolve their views and also that I won’t regret this in like 5 years.
Male Bonding is a catchy-punky indie band from London. “Year’s Not Long” is a great summer jam, and the mid-point turn in the video still feels to me like a nice jab at certain strains of cliche masculinity. Punk reclaimed some of its softness in the 2010s, and I think it’s better for it.
Another important band from the decade with consistent output. I love the speed of the early White Lung stuff, and the jaggedness of the guitar lines. So far we’re on about mid-tier in terms of “mainstreamness” — not something that would be on the radio, but all of these bands would definitely be covered by something like “Noisey.” We’ll get more underground/DIY later on.
Like a lot of these bands, the Men have been all over the map musically, probably considering themselves to be in the tradition on non-genre specific rock n roll ala the Replacements (wasn’t everybody?) A lot of their stuff is great — the more straightforward fast rock on “Electric” and the shambly country of “Candy,” but as far as I know, they never again quite sounded like they do on LADOCH, which is just a pummeling blast of noise rock with the lead singer Chris Hansell (who would leave the band soon after) sounding like he’s about to hack up his entire larynx. That mid-point cough!
I found this one through Sacred Bones Records, the same label the Men were on. I don’t love the serial killer, murder ballad, dead woman shtick that seems to run through more than a few of their songs. It’s the same old song and dance you’ve probably heard before: it’s not the individual examples so much as the weight of years and years of entire genres (and I’m talking horror and crime fiction here) being propped on the backs of murdered ladies; it’s played out, and yes, misogynistic (even if unintentionally). We still live on Earth, here, unfortunately.
I do remember digging the novelist details and spooky, industrial vibe. It’s funny though how stuff looks different with the passage of time.
Another band from the same Copenhagen scene as Iceage. A similar dissonant energy — maybe a little bit punkier and a little less arty — and thankfully no links (as far as I know) to any sort of white nationalism. The “Walk On Heads” EP is a great, short blast of energy.
Chastity Belt are a band from Washington state with a kind of surfy sound that alternates between cheeky kiss-offs and a haunting melancholy, best shown on tracks like “Black Sails.” They write about parties, hook-ups, and hint at the malaise that underlies a lot of 20-something life, while also making a point to reclaim those things for women in a shame free and sex-positive way.
From Syracuse, New York, here’s a great noisy band with that mix of dissonance and hookiness that’s so appealing to me. After an adolescence gravitating toward the poppier end of the punk spectrum, I got tired of the big pop hook, and spent my 20s preferring to dig for my melody beneath layers of fuzz and dischord. Disbanded in 2016, singer Meredith Graves has had quite a few gigs since then, including as an MTV host, the director of music for Kickstarter, and quite a few writing gigs.
A lot of the bands I wrote about in this post straddled the line a bit between DIY punk and straight up hipster scenester tastemaker, and I’m going to dive headfirst into blurring that distinction with the next one.
