Anti-Flag on their new album, empathy, and Pittsburgh

On September 28th, Anti-Flag are set to release American Reckoning. The album will bring together acoustic versions of songs from American Spring and American Fall along with covers by Buffalo Springfield, John Lennon, and Cheap Trick. In the age of immediacy, the band felt it was important to revisit songs and ideas who may have been overlooked in our neverending news cycle. As Chris #2 put it, “How do we not let our art get lost in the shuffle?”

In the lead up to American Reckoning, the band has been in the midst of an amphitheatre tour across North America with fellow punk rock luminaries Rise Against and A.F.I. Punknews’ Eric Rosso spoke with Chris #2 about this and much more including the music industry, organizing, and the recent socialist resurgence in Pittsburgh, Anti-Flag’s hometown.

Hiroki Osawa of The Sensations on Japanese ska, running a label, and Mustard Plug

There's something beautiful about ending up at a show on accident. A quick post, a flyer on the street, word from a friend, realizing hey that's not too far from me maybe I should go. And that's more or less how I came to know The Sensations, a Tokyo ska band who deliver an amazing set of doo-wop, pop, and soul influenced ska that truly lives up to the name. After stumbling upon them in a basement in Shinjuku, and witnessing the raw, frantic, barely contained energy that they bring to the stage, they quickly became one of my favorite acts. And now they're coming to the US, to hopefully impress you just as they did me.

Jake Cooley spoke to their frontman Hiroki about the band, the scene in Tokyo, and their upcoming shows with Mustard Plug, including playing The Fest.

Chris Page gets The Stand GT back together for Beau's Oktoberfest

Long dormant since their heyday in the 90s, garage-rock act The Stand GT have returned. The band, who originally hailed from the farming community of Glengarry, Ontario, has only played a handful of shows since going quiet in 2001. Their next will see them take the Black Forest stage at Beau's Oktoberfest on Saturday, September 22. I had the pleasure of chatting with frontman Chris Page on what it's been like getting the band back together after all these years.

Toronto's Talk Show Host isn't here to make friends

Toronto power-pop trio Talk Show Host turned a lot of heads with Not Here To Make Friends, an EP that captured the sonic spirit of the 90s Fat sound. The band's gearing up to take the stage at Beau's annual Oktoberfest celebration in Vanleek Hill, Ontario on Friday, September 21. I spoke with Chris, the trio's vocalist and guitarist, about enraging MRA trolls, the ups and downs of the Toronto punk scene, and the dream of playing with Sloan.

Montreal's Lost Love stay positive on 'Good Luck Rassco'

In a few weeks bands from across Canada will converge on the small town of Vanleek Hill, Ontario, better known as the home base of craft brewery Beau's All Natural. The annual Beau's Oktoberfest music festival and charitable fundraiser takes place on September 21 and 22. It features two stages of independent music, including the punk-focused Black Forest stage. That's where you'll find Montreal pop-punk group Lost Love leading sing-alongs to their massively catchy new full-length Good Luck Rassco. We spoke with the band about the record and their upcoming Oktoberfest appearance.

Getting to know Pussy Stench

Montreal has been brewing out some heavy hitting bands in recent years. Pussy Stench is a younger band out of that scene and has been playing heavy 90s grunge sounding punk since 2015. The raw and in your face energy that this trio hones encompasses a lot of the ethos of the thriving Montreal punk scene. The band released a new album this year, editor Samantha Barrett met up with Devan K-M (guitarist and vocals), Thomas Papkostas (bassist), and John De Nardi (drummer) after their performance at 77 Montreal to get to know the hard-hitting band.

Mad Caddies on their new album

The Mad Caddies released their new album Punk Rocksteady earlier this year. The record finds the band converting punk tunes into ska and rocksteady type jams. To get some insight into the album, Punknews' Dan Donald spoke to guitarist Sascha Lazor about the new record. Check that out below.

Listen to the new album by Somerset Thrower!

There are few things you can count on in Long Island. Luckily, musical diversity is one. The punk and hardcore underground in Long Island continues to be a place of variety and genre-bending sonic output, and that variety has made for some truly great albums and shows over the years. These days, Somerset Thrower continue that legacy as they blend driving post-hardcore grooves with the melodic sensibilities of alternative garage rock, all the while recognizing their own place in the Long Island hardcore punk scene.

Punknews. Mike Musilli sat down with the band to talk about their upcoming LP, Godspeed, and more. On top of that, you can also check out a full album stream of Godspeed below. The LP comes out this Friday, August 24th on Dead Broke Records, and you can pre-order it right here/. You can catch Somerset Thrower at their record release show this weekend, and on a fall run of shows with Iron Chic on the bands’ way down to The Fest.

Jeff Rosenstock on his legacy, represses, and punk rock in 2018

Jeff Rosenstock has been releasing music consistently for almost 20 years at this point and has amassed a sizable cult following doing it. Following the release of a 46-track, fan-made tribute to his career, Punknews staffer, and Album Minus Jeff contributor, Sean Crawford, sat down with Rosenstock to discuss the compilation, his relationship with the songs on it, and those gosh darn record flippers!

Mad Joe Black of Wisdom in Chains

Wisdom in Chains just released their new album Nothing In Nature Respects Weakness. As frontman Mad Joe Black explains, "It’s a reminder that when you feel like giving up you have to keep pushing forward. Nature will not pity you. Life will not pity you. So, make yourself so you can fight through the inevitable struggles." Whew! That's intense. In order to get a glimpse of what drove this album, Punknews' Eric Rosso spoke to Joe himself about the new LP, cellphone addiction, and the concept of hardcore itself.

Standing tall on the wings of The Jukebox Romantics' dreams

New York's The Jukebox Romantics have been touring relentlessly in support of their most recent album Sleepwalk Me Home, which was released last year on Paper+Plastic Records. On June 29th, Punknews' Jeff Sorley met up with the pop-punk trio after their set at the Mill Hill Basement in Trenton, NJ. Suffice it to say, their on-stage banter and exuberance isn't an act. Over an eight-minute period with guitarist/vocalist Mike "Terry" Terry and bassist/vocalist Bobby Edge, which was chock full of pop-culture references, back-and-forth banter, and almost-in-tears laughter; he managed to corral some semblance of an interview.