Happy Janky Fresh Friday! This week we had an incredibly festive St. Patrick’s Day release of Dropkick Murphys and Haywire’s split EP, bringing two different generations of the Boston hardcore punk scene together for an experience that really exposes how many of the struggles and core ethics of the 90’s scene are still present today. Similarly, we have the debut release of SoCal DIY darlings Start Today’s first album and the anticipated reunion album of Poison The Well’s first release in 16 years. Whether you’re an oldhead from the 90’s hardcore punk scene or a Gen Z crowd-killer who just got into the genre during its recent post-Covid explosion, we have you covered with new releases that will have you more hopeful than ever for the state of the scene.
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Dropkick Murphys & Haywire: New England Forever split (released March 17, 2026)- Dummy Luck Music
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Dropkick Murphys are no strangers to releasing surprise split EP’s that rival their full-length studio albums, with their 2006 “Mob Mentality” split featuring The Business (RIP Micky Fitz) being one of the most praised releases in all of post-1980’s Oi music. While that landmark collab featured Dropkick as the new kids on the block teaming up with great legends of Oi’s past, they take the opposite role for this St. Patrick’s Day split 20 years later; now being the old dogs of the genre and featuring hardcore’s wildest and talked about band currently, Haywire.
While Haywire does have a more notably modern hardcore influence, their influences in classic Boston punk music are just as equally important to their sound. Bringing out the infamous Dicky Barrett from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones as a guest at their For The Children Fest 2025 performance in Boston, it’s clear that Haywire is just as dedicated to impressing the older generations’ heroes of their hometown as they are in appealing to the younger scene that is eating them up at the moment.
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Recently touring with Dropkick Murphys and sharing a 4-Day St Patrick’s Day residency starting at Boston’s MGM Music Hall, both bands felt that they shared enough of an identity in their sound and a goal in their vision to start recording music together. Bringing the situation to an almost comically stereotypical level, they also both decided that St. Patrick’s Day would be the perfect day to release this experiment. I personally could not agree more, and this release should have been blasted at full volume by anybody who was celebrating that day.
The release throws open the gates as soon as it starts, opening with the collaborative track “Citizen I.C.E.” that was featured in all of the promotional material for their recent tour together. Although Dropkick Murphys’ music recently hasn’t drawn the eyes that they used to, their political statements and public beefs with notorious Trump Mafia figures like Elon Musk have been all over the news in the past year; with the band being completely banned from Twitter after calling him out at one of their live performances.
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Beyond their role in fighting against the recent political shitstorm that is taking place in the US, Dropkick Murphys have always maintained a heavily pro-immigrant stance in their lyrics throughout their career. The lyrics “Together We Are what we can’t be alone, We came to this country and made it our home” from one of their first ever songs “Boys On The Dock” were recently incorporated into a recent merch drop with all proceeds going to families facing issues with the United States immigration system; so it’s very safe to say that Dropkick have always stuck to these core ethics, relating many of the struggles faced by Latino immigrants to those faced by the Irish in the early 1900’s.
“Citizen I.C.E.” doesn’t just feel like Dropkick Murphys are returning to these ideals to capitalize on the current times, but it feels like an evolution of these ideals that the band is actively experiencing in the current state of the world. Choosing to collaborate with Haywire on this split emphasizes this even further. They aren’t just old men disillusioned with the youth’s inevitable takeover of their scene; they want to play an active role in building the new iteration for future generations.
While Dropkick Murphys could easily hide away from politics as a safe dad-rock stadium punk band, they are actually punk rock and actually hardcore at their roots. Even as a millennial, I’ve had plenty of “real punks” give me hate for repping the mainstream Dropkick as hard as I do; however I really don’t think they’ve experienced their earlier Oi material and they certainly haven’t kept up with how true to the scene that the band has always been. “Citizen I.C.E.” may not be the strongest collab between Dropkick and Haywire on this release, but it’s the perfect choice as an opener to show where the minds and hearts of both bands currently stand.
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Dropkick continues the more heavy sound influenced by the hardcore direction of Haywire with “Only The Strong”, with the lyrics coming off as a direct callout against the bands their age that have taken a backseat in speaking about politics or social causes with lyrics like “You fence-walkers, you big-talkers; how about you grow some balls?” It’s almost incomprehensible to imagine the disappointment that they must feel amongst the submissive peers their age with Dropkick taking all of these brand risks to stand for what they believe in, but that’s exactly the reason why they’re teaming up with new blood in the scene like Haywire. They continue these themes even further with the next track “Solidarity” almost declaring that they are on an island of their own in maintaining the ethics from the era of the scene they come from, but also in their sound and the pure boldness of the genres they’ve crossed over into.
Before the split was even officially released, I was most excited to see that Dropkick Murphys’ side of the split would be ending with a cover of Haywire’s “Always By My Side” as it’s one of the most anthemic melodic hardcore songs to be released in the 2020’s so far. Unfortunately, the atmospheric tone of the Haywire version that sends chills through my spine just isn’t present on the Dropkick Murphys cover.
The biggest disappointment here is that Dropkick Murphys would actually be the perfect band to escalate that sentimental energy of the original song even higher. Some simple additions of their signature sound like bagpipes and dual vocals would have made the song sound even more grandiose than Haywire’s version, but Dropkick decided to opt for a similar stripped-down rock n roll sound that the original used.
It’s still a good version of the song and I would have the best time in a circle pit hearing it live, but a great cover really should aim to reinvent a song rather than repeating it. While it may have been the most disappointing track for me personally, the novelty of having a classic Oi band like Dropkick Murphys covering one of the newest names in hardcore music is interesting enough on its own to justify its existence. It’s just a reminder of how insane and how beautiful this collaboration truly is.
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Considering the A-side of the split opened with a collaborative track and ended with Dropkick covering Haywire, it was an incredibly tasteful and cohesive move to have the B-side take the same formula. The collaborative track that opens the Haywire side here is even stronger in my opinion, with “New England Forever” easily being the best song on the split and the most signature-sounding Dropkick Murphys song to be released in over a decade.
Haywire’s side of the split continues with “Hang Up The Telephone”, another anthemic melodic hardcore classic from them that definitely ruffled some feathers online with how cheery and poppy it is. This is one of the strongest sides of Haywire in my opinion, completely entering their own sound without any regard for what the “tough guys” in the scene think. Despite what some of the haters may say, this has already paid off incredibly well for them considering the praise they have received across the hardcore scene in the past year. Bands like Drain and Scowl that dare to experiment with these more sing-along anthems have already seen a level of success that most bands in the hardcore scene don’t, and Haywire is certainly next.
If the last track was a bit too melodic and fun for you, I hate to break it to you but Haywire IS a fun band at their core. However the next track “The Henchman” is going to definitely provide the cathartic violent release that their diehard fans are looking for, resembling their instant side-to-side classic “Like A Train” that closes out most of their performances. Keep in mind this isn’t a Haywire album, but a split album with Dropkick Murphys; and Haywire are nowhere near done exploring that campy side of their Boston image just yet…
Besides the title track, the highlight of Haywire’s side of the split for me was easily their cover of Dropkick Murphys’ 2013 track “The Boys Are Back”. Their 2013 album Signed And Sealed In Blood was probably their last major release that myself and many other hardcore fans paid attention to, and this song almost gave me whiplash considering I haven’t heard it since my senior year in high school when it came out.
The original Dropkick version of the song itself had the barroom sing-along energy that evokes the same Thin Lizzy spirit that the song’s title is referencing, but Haywire’s harder and rougher sound completely rejuvenates the rowdy nature of this track and reinvents it completely. The chorus has not exited my head since St. Patrick’s Day earlier this week, and its rock n roll spirit really does emphasize the boisterous qualities that both bands share. While I think Haywire’s version has surpassed the original, I’m incredibly thankful they picked a more niche Dropkick Murphys song to remind us how consistent they were throughout most of their career. It’s obvious Haywire really loves Dropkick from the song they chose, and it’s even more obvious that Dropkick loves Haywire by inviting them to be a part of this moment in Boston history.
This new Dropkick Murphys and Haywire split really is packed to the brim with all of the crossover qualities that made Dropkick’s split EP with The Business such a cult classic amongst punks in the early 00’s; with hardcore punk being in the best state that it’s ever been since that time. Whether you’re into hardcore, punk rock, Oi, or even just Celtic music in any form; this split has something for you. This sort of unity and crossing over into unexpected audiences is exactly what the punk scene needs right now to bridge the generational gaps that so many artists have been lazy about closing.
Other NEW March 20, 2026 Releases:
Poison The Well: Peace In Place (released March 20, 2026)- SHARPTONE
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90’s metalcore legends Poison The Well have been on quite the surprising trajectory this past year, reuniting for an international festival run including Los Angeles’ very own Sound And Fury festival before they embark on a completely stacked tour coming up featuring Converge, The Armed, and The Barbarians Of California. It’s more imperative than ever that the newcomers to the hardcore and metalcore scenes study the previous titans of the genres, with Poison The Well representing a much more artistic and emotionally raw side of metalcore than we saw from the corporate-pushed Hot Topic side of the genre that unfortunately followed in the 00’s.
Poison The Well are back to ignite these waves once again, with their newest album (their first in 16 years) coming out at a perfect time where the hardcore scene could not need emotionally-vulnerable outsider thinking more than ever. Poison The Well was innovating with their signature sound before it was cool to do so, and they somehow found a perfect time to recreate excitement around the experimentation that put them on the map in the first place.
Start Today: Nothing To You (released March 20, 2026)- Rebirth Records
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Start Today have really kicked off their career in one of the strongest ways we have seen from a Southern California hardcore band in quite a while, opting to somehow find a way to be everywhere at once. From their persistance to playing underground DIY house shows around Los Angeles and Orange County to their recent opening slots in anticipation for Turnstile’s Never Enough album release shows, Start Today wants to be loved by the local underground as much as they are by the mainstream hardcore scene dominating the US right now. In an era where so many artists are focused on internet marketing, Start Today has really made it seem effortless to come up in the scene in the most old-fashioned way possible; by simply being as dedicated to performing and to honing their sound as possible.
While Start Today’s name may come from the Gorilla Biscuits album, they are surprisingly not a straight edge band. Either way they are bringing that 90’s Youth Crew sound back in a way that Southern California hasn’t seen in ages, while also throwing in some of groovy riffs inspired from melodic hardcore groups of the time like Start Today as well. Start Today is about to be a band we see everywhere, so why not get a head start on their inevitable success by checking out the anticipated debut album here?
We wish you the happiest of Janky Fresh Fridays. Enjoy your new music!
Words by Danny Ryan
