Some bands look great on paper, even before you’ve heard a note. That certainly applies to alt rock/melodic punkers UltraBomb. Featuring musicians associated with Minneapolis scene legends Soul Asylum and Hüsker Dü along with a member of Social Distortion, Ultrabomb is a legacy act in every sense.
Tag Archives: melodic punk
Listen: King Of Cups are on the ‘Naughty List All Year’
Throughout the second half of 2025, US punkers King of Cups have been teasing a forthcoming album. Each of the singles have shown the band in a position of musical strength: ‘Let The World Burn’ introduced elements of emo and power pop into their pop punk core; ‘Waited’ leaned further towards a world of emo/alternative rock with the help of a few heavier riffs and some Linkin Park-esque keys, and ‘Lighthouse’ – arguably the best of the record’s three pre-release tracks – augmented a stronger emo influence with some great harmonies, but without losing the King of Cups crunch.
Watch: Tooth Gore shares new video for ‘The Lighthouse’
Following a string of rather varied sounding digital singles – kicking off with ‘Spilled Milk’ in September 2024 – one man band Tooth Gore released his long awaited ‘For Losers…By Losers’ album in June 2025. It didn’t disappoint. Taking in elements of surf rock, noisy indie, melodic punk and a couple of other retro twists, the album showcased an artist will a brilliantly malleable talent.
THE CAROLYN – Pyramid Scheme Of Grief
In 2023, US punks The Carolyn released ‘Harmful History’, an EP that provided a solid, if brief, insight into the band’s musical interests. The material made their love of The Ataris and The Gaslight Anthem rather apparent, but in terms of musicianship, the material was very strong.
In many ways, their 2025 release ‘Pyramid Scheme of Grief’ offers fans more of the same, but at times, the arrangements are tighter and the material more concise. This gives The Carolyn a serious amount of extra punch when required, without losing any of their songwriting focus.
FIRE SALE / PULLEY – Split Personality EP
On a pair of earlier singles, US punkers Fire Sale demonstrated a perfect blend of power and melody. By channelling the skate punk aspects of early No Use For A Name and the melodic elements of The Ataris, their material shared an instantly classic sound which seemed tailor made for lovers of 90s punk. Their contributions to this split EP with the mighty Pulley – one of the 90s more underrated melodic punk acts – are very much in the same vein, but this only suggests that Fire Sale are the kind of band that genre fans can take to heart without fear of disappointment.