Welcome to Janky Fresh Friday- the busiest day of the week for artists and labels to drop newly released music. Check in every Friday for a fresh squeeze.
As part of Janky Smooth’s Janky Fresh Friday series, we’ve been comparing two albums that come out on the same day and seemingly have nothing in common- for the sole purpose of discovering the wealth of similarities between two disparate things.
In some respects, it’s an exercise in empathy, learning how to appreciate differences, placing yourself in the shoes of a different subculture, and putting forth an effort to celebrate music as a whole.
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Today’s albums for Friday, November 7th, 2025, are two of the most ambitious releases of the year from scenes that used to be more closely connected than you see nowadays. The relationship between punk and hip-hop has a long history and this fusion was a staple of underground shows in Los Angeles for the longest time. There are very few rappers that cross over into punk, hardcore, or metal anymore but Danny Brown has consistently been dedicated to these collaborations since his tour with Trash Talk and Action Bronson in 2013. He has experimented with more genres than possibly any rapper in history, and Drain is currently experimenting with more genres than most hardcore bands ever dare to try.
Drain is easily one of the biggest bands in hardcore and crossover thrash right now, playing Warped Tour this last summer and recently being featured in a Taco Bell commercial. I actually was lucky enough to see both of these artists play together when they opened for Knocked Loose’s Halloween show at Observatory OC last year, so these two do have more history than one might expect. Both of these albums are groundbreaking moments for each artist in defining their sounds, and they both aim to completely destroy the stereotypes of the genres they come from.
Drain: …Is Your Friend (released November 7, 2025): Epitaph Records
Don’t miss Drain live!
11/23 – Glasshouse Pomona
4/10 – Coachella Festival
4/18 – Quarry Ampitheater, Santa Cruz
JankySmooth has been following Drain since Sound And Fury 2019, before their first album “California Cursed” was even released. They blew up in the hardcore scene almost as soon as they arrived, gaining tremendous notoriety for their rowdy live shows filled with beach balls, pool noodles, and even boogie boards for the crowd-surfers. “California Cursed” was an instant classic upon its release, but their follow-up album “Living Proof” felt like more of the same sound outside of their cover of Descendents’ pop-punk classic Good Good Things and the hip-hop intermission with Shakewell. “…Is Your Friend” is a landmark moment in Drain defining their sound, while also showing that the group has plenty of room to explore further territories than most hardcore bands allow themselves to.
related: Boston Calling – Sound And Fury 2019
Drain has always been known for how fun their spirit is, but personally I never really felt that their music matched the whole surfing aesthetic with how thrash-y and heavy they are. This album changes everything however, fully embracing a brighter sound in guitar tones and incorporating more of the Warped Tour summer energy that they’ve been wanting to embody. With how bland the hardcore scene has been lately due to the obsession with beatdown and metalcore amongst younger fans, this album really aims to make the genre fun again rather than just “breakdowns for tough guys”. It’s the kick in the ass that the hardcore scene needs right now, and the kick in the ass that Drain needed in their discography as well.
related: Photo Recap – Drain at 1720
Drain absolutely rips open this new release starting with the track Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow, which makes the bold choice of having its chorus act as the breakdowns of the song as well. One major aspect of hardcore music that has been lost in the modern scene is the emphasis on sing-along moments for the crowd to rush the stage to, and this whole album really goes out of its way to bring that experience back. Sometimes the most innovative thing an artist can do is return to the roots of their sound, especially when everybody else in the genre seems to have forgotten what makes it so special.
related: Turnstile ‘Shake It Up’ at The Novo
The next track Living In A Memory ramps up the feel-good California punk spirit, even having a smoother melodic part that resembles moments of earlier Turnstile in how catchy it is. I might be comparing “…Is Your Friend” to Turnstile a few times, but that doesn’t mean this album is derivative in any way. In fact, it’s necessary. Turnstile’s experimentation in melodies and groovy breakdowns were crucial in bringing hardcore out of the dark period that it was in, and a huge void has been left now that they’ve become a more mainstream dream-pop influenced band. While managing to sound different with their thrash-y sound, Drain is here to fill that void and make the scene fun again for everybody; not just the wannabe tough guys crowd-killing kids in the pit.
Frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro has a vocal style that I used to think was more suited for a thrash metal band than a hardcore group, but it has really grown on me with this album. The crossover elements between these genres resembles the similar fusion that Suicidal Tendencies were known for in the 80’s; a band that also heavily incorporated surfing and skateboarding aesthetics into their image. It all clicked for me here, especially with Drain being from the beach town of Santa Cruz reminiscent of Suicidal Tendencies creating their own scene in Venice Beach. Again, this comparison isn’t meant to say that Drain is derivative in any way. More-so, they are fulfilling a prophecy of being the definitive West Coast hardcore band that represents California worldwide.
related: Irvine Rising – Rise Against and Descendents at Five Point Ampitheatre
Drain has made the very bold and interesting choice of featuring pop-punk tracks as the lead singles for both of their last 2 albums, as they follow up their cover of Descendents’ Good Good Things with the original track Who’s Having Fun?. While Good Good Things was a great cover that is a blast to see them perform live, Who’s Having Fun? feels like a proper dive into the pop-punk sound rather than a novelty one-off track. With how much the band clearly enjoys exploring these lighter sounds, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a full pop-punk album from them in the future.
Who’s Having Fun? is catchy and poppy while still managing to maintain a heavy spirit with its metallic guitars, and even has a moment with screaming hardcore vocals towards the end of the track. This fusion could not embody the early 00’s Warped Tour spirit more, although it may sound a bit jarring to listeners outside of the scene. If anything, it’s proof that they will never abandon their hardcore roots even if they do enter an entirely new pop-punk direction.
related: Risks Make Better Memories Than Nostalgia – Sound And Fury 2022
Until Next Time… is the perfect finale to the album, opening with an incredibly metallic guitar solo that could almost pass as the intro to an Iron Maiden song. The song is entirely self-aware of the image that Drain has created for themselves and seeks to really emphasize the name of the album, even incorporating the Cock Sparrer lyric “Remember out there somewhere you’ve got a friend, and you’ll never walk alone again” and definitively closing the entire experience with the statement “Drain Is Your Friend”. Until Next Time… indicates that Drain has big plans for their next album, and that this journey that they’re taking us on is far from over. Will it be a pop-punk release? Will they incorporate surf music somehow? They leave the listener wondering and wanting more, but one thing is for certain; Drain is your friend, and they’re possibly hardcore’s biggest friend as well currently.
Danny Brown: Stardust (released November 7, 2025): Warp Records
Don’t miss Danny Brown live!
11/26 – The Bellwether
11/28 – The Observatory OC
11/29 – The Observatory North Park SD
Since his landmark 2012 mixtape “XXX”, Danny Brown has held a reputation for being one of the most experimental oddball rappers in the game. From his high-pitched nasally voice and obscene lyrics to his heavy electronic-influenced beats, Danny Brown has never been a hip-hop artist for the normie crowd. Especially since signing to the legendary IDM-experimental electronic label Warp Records (the only rapper on the label), Danny has experimented with nearly every sound you could imagine. This album “Stardust” however, feels like more than just experimentation. It’s almost a self-declaration; that Danny Brown is one of the most unique rappers of all time, and he transcends the genre of hip-hop completely.
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Right off the bat, you might notice that Danny Brown’s newest release “Stardust” is filled to the brim with collaborations. These aren’t the typical hip-hop collaborations where a rapper might come in for a guest verse; Danny Brown goes out of his way to let you know that he worked directly with these artists in building the production for these tracks from the ground up. The guest features such as Jane Remover, underscores, femtanyl, and Frost Children are some of the biggest names in hyperpop and experimental electronic music at the moment. It’s clear that he’s deep into this rising scene, and is jumping aboard as he flees the sinking ship of hip-hop in 2025.
The opening track Book of Daniel could not be more accurately named, as it really does feel like it would be his book in the Bible Of Hip-Hop. If the opening track of “XXX” was Danny’s intro to the world as a spazzy drug-addicted oddball rapper, Book of Daniel is his declaration that he is not only the most experimental rapper of all time but one of the greatest as well. The song even makes throwback references to “XXX” with lines like “How did we go from mixtapes to clickbait?” and “Now I made it past a decade, who’s the top? Dot and Thebe. And that’s Me. The Big Three. Don’t give a fuck what they say” (Dot and Thebe being Kendrick Lamar and Earl Sweatshirt). And he’s absolutely right; there aren’t any other rappers you could point to that have consistently experimented throughout their careers as much as these three have.
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The next track Starburst dives right into the experimental hyperpop sound we will be seeing throughout the rest of the album, instantly opening with a squeaky ear-piercing beat that is incredibly Sophie-influenced. It’s actually pretty crazy how Danny Brown is staying more true to the genre’s roots of avant-garde and noise-incorporation than hyperpop veterans like 100 Gecs and Charli XCX do nowadays. The song’s full of Danny Brown’s signature references to obscure media that most rappers wouldn’t touch, with lines like “They woke me up inside like listen to Evanescence” and “But when they in them streets, they’re going nuts like Conker” (referencing the Nintendo 64 game Conker’s Bad Fur Day). Danny Brown isn’t afraid to be a niche weirdo, which means even more in a genre where artists are so careful about preserving a “hard” image for themselves.
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The first collaborative track with underscores (one of the biggest hyperpop groups at the moment) goes even further in emphasizing Danny Brown’s transcendence beyond the hip-hop genre as underscores repeat the line “Rockstar, Popstar. Rockstar, Popstar”. Danny has always portrayed himself as a sort of rockstar figure starting with his track Die Like A Rockstar off of “XXX”, but this is the first time he’s referred to himself as a “popstar”. By all definitions he is the ultimate popstar considering his collaborations with forward-thinking pop producers, focus on fashion and innovative personal style, and his flamboyant stage presence. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Danny Brown step into the world of pop production entirely and putting out a release that isn’t hip-hop at all in the future.
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As mentioned earlier, Danny Brown does have a longstanding history of crossing over into hardcore and punk; touring with Trash Talk in the past and more recently Knocked Loose. One of the most frustrating concert experiences I’ve ever had was seeing the confusion of the crowd when he opened for Knocked Loose at the OC Observatory, with many people in attendance openly bashing his set. While people like to say “music is subjective”, this was the clearest case I’ve ever seen of people just “not getting it”. The diehard fans moshing up front knew every word to every song, so we just pretended like the close-minded metalcore dweebs in the crowd weren’t there.
Even with this album’s focus on hyperpop and experimental influences, Brown continues to display his love for punk and alternative music with moments like JOHNNACUS screaming at random throughout the track 1999 and Frost Children’s incredibly emo vocals on Green Light. Although you may disagree with Danny’s declaration that he’s one of the top rappers of all time, it’s hard to argue that he’s not the most punk rock rapper of all time.
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Even with its avant-garde experimentation, there are tracks on “Stardust” that are straight-up hip-hop including the backing soul samples on What You See featuring Quadeca. Danny Brown isn’t abandoning hip-hop entirely for hyperpop and IDM, but he’s saving these moments for incredibly soulful beats like this. The backing track is so clean that it could easily pass as an old school Lil Wayne or Kanye West song. In a way this Danny Brown’s “Yeezus” with just how aggressively experimental and unapologetically himself the whole experience is.
The finale All4U with Jane Remover perfectly sums up how Danny is feeling at this point in his career as he repeats the lines “All I ever wanted was to be a rap star. Didn’t know I could make it this far. All I wanted was to spit those bars. And I made it here, against all odds”. Danny Brown has always made the music that HE wants to make, without any outside influence of the hip-hop industry affecting his vision. With how rigid the genre can be towards self-expression, he really did make it here against all odds. It’s more of a surprise to him than anybody else, and it’s clear he has a deep appreciation for his fans that do understand his vision.
Both Drain and Danny Brown put out albums today that reinvent their sounds, but also act as a return to form for their visions. They have greater hopes and aspirations for their respective scenes than most artists would ever dare to tackle. However it just goes to show that in a climate where everybody is trying to sound the same, following your creative vision purely without outside influence will make you stand out more than ever. With how many artists nowadays are just trying to emulate scenes of the past, it really does pay off to just be yourself and create the art that you want to see in the world. Hopefully we start to see more artists take these risks, but albums like these are needed to kickstart that movement.
Words by Danny Ryan
