Tag: Trending
Fresh Fridays – New Releases from Basement, Drake, and Social Distortion
Danny Ryan
May 15, 2026
Happy Fresh Friday- May 15th, 2026! This week we feature the UK alternative emo group Basement with their first new release in 8 years. Fresh off of playing a free show at Los Angeles’s brand new DIY venue Milky’s, Basement just announced a massive tour featuring the modern “who’s who” in the alternative side of hardcore music. This newest release aims to reinvent their sound in a noticeable way, expanding into new territories of rock music that were far less common to explore in 2018. Considering how much of a pinnacle role that Basement’s influence had on the recent explosions of alternative rock in the hardcore scene, they’re finally receiving their deserved roses on this newest release – a must-listen for fans of really any genre of rock, something very rare to find in the fragmented streaming era. related: Fresh Fridays – Newest Releases by Lip Critic, Broken Social Scene, Frozen Soul, Koyo This week also has Drake surprising us with 3 new releases (too many) and the hype from Social Distortion’s newest album is still riding high. Let’s jump into it! Basement- WIRED (May 8th 2026) Run For Cover Records Although Basement is a band almost exclusively associated with
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Fresh Fridays- New Releases by Lip Critic, Broken Social Scene, Frozen Soul, Koyo
Danny Baraz
May 8, 2026
Happy Fresh Friday! This week we feature the sophomore full length album “Theft World” by New York dance punks- Lip Critic- a band we highlighted as one to watch in 2026. As we trudge deeper into unfamiliar territory in our society, it’s important to have something consistent in our lives. For Janky Smooth and most of our readers that consistency comes from new music. related: Top 10 Artists To Watch in 2026 This week also sees new music from Broken Social Scene, Frozen Soul and Koyo. But let’s start with Lip Critic Lip Critic- Theft World (May 1st 2026) Partisan Records There is something that made me feel warm inside when I saw there was a machine behind Lip Critic that’s been warming up the human race for their new album- Theft World. A concerted effort of eye catching promo and staggered singles released throughout the year that all led up to the May 1st, 2026 release on Partisan Records. Because you have to make people understand what this is to sell it and that’s no easy task. If you listen to any Lip Critic recording, they could be a divisive band to normies- that Lip Critic may seem to
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Let The Zoomers Rage, Millennials: 2Slimey at Echoplex
Danny Ryan
May 5, 2026
Rage Rap promoter Echoe brought viral rapper 2Slimey to the Echoplex for his first Los Angeles concert on April 26th, 2026. Janky Smooth was in attendance for this vital moment in hip-hop history, and we have some thoughts on why you should give Gen Z a chance to rage in their own way, free of oldhead criticism. Gen Z really can’t catch a break in cultural analysis. From their affinity for early 00’s JNKO jeans and tacky jewelery to their gravitation towards nu-metal and emo music through TikTok. I ALWAYS see millennials complaining about how zoomers don’t have their own culture and just rip off the nostalgia from past generations, but we also have the nerve to shit on every attempt they DO make at creating their own culture. Their AI Italian brainrot memes, the “Chicken Jockey” Minecraft movie phenomenon, their parasocial obsession with pop stars and Twitch streamers – all of these contributions they have made towards the social zeitgeist often get dismissed as creations by dumb rowdy kids who were tragically warped by the internet. This sort of boomer-mentality of yelling at the clouds over the world changing is nothing new, but it’s incredibly disheartening to see peers
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Fresh Fridays New Feleases: Nine Inch Noize, M.I.A., Magdalena Bay
Danny Ryan
April 17, 2026
Happy Fresh Friday! Today we have been blessed with the highly anticipated Nine Inch Noize collaborative album between 90’s industrial god Nine Inch Nails and indie-sleaze EDM legends Boys Noize. If you are a fan of industrial music or electronic dance in any sort of way, don’t let the jarring juxtaposition of these two worlds fool you – this is a must listen album for fans of either artist. M.I.A also brings us an unexpected gospel album fresh off of her recent appearance during Diplo’s Coachella set, and Magdalena Bay has officially released the scattered singles they’ve been teasing us with in a cohesive collection. Happy Friday, and let’s jump into these fresh new releases! Nine Inch Noize- Nine Inch Nails & Boys Noize (Released April 17th 2026)- Interscope Records While seeing the collaborative name “Nine Inch Noize” on the 2026 Coachella lineup may have confused and struck many by surprise, Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize have a deeper history together than one may expect. The duo did embark on a massive tour recently in 2025 and both artists did collaborate for many songs on the recent Tron: Ares soundtrack, as bizarre as it is for Disney to enlist Nine Inch Nails
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Arroyo Secodelic Fest Is Re-vibing The L.A. Music Community- Preview and Giveaway
Danny Ryan
April 16, 2026
Arroyo Secodelic is on a mission to re-vibe LA as a festival capitol, bringing us an off-the-wall lineup no one would expect in one of the most unique festival set-ups that we have seen in a long time. The inaugural event will take place May 22nd- May 25th across seven different venues in Highland Park including The Lodge Room, Oblivion, Cheerio Collective, De Playa Records, and The Highland Park Ebell Club; Arroyo Secodelic is going to turn your Memorial Day Weekend into a psychedelic punk-rock dream. If you’re embedded in the L.A.music scene, there is no way you can miss this event. You can buy tickets now or enter our social media ticket giveaway for a chance to win 3 pairs of tickets @jankysmooth – read to the end for details. related: The 4th Wave Of Garage Rock in Los Angeles – A Retrospective With all of the hype surrounding Coachella over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the absence of multi bill lineups missing from Los Angeles’ festival scene; especially with the fall of our local events like FYF Fest and Burgerama within the past decade. Even when diverse and promising festivals do arrive like This
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Fresh Fridays: Melvins/Napalm Death Collab, Snail Mail and Immolation
Danny Ryan
April 10, 2026
Happy Janky Fresh Friday! This week we had a surpring new release of Melvins’ and Napalm Death’s collaborative album “Savage Imperial Death March”, blessing the world with a psychedelic freeform experience that is not at all what most would expect from either of these bands until you hear it- and then it all makes sense in an odd way. It’s an absolute beast of a record and near impossible to explain, but we are going to try our best to break it down anyways. We were also blessed recently with new releases by Immolation and Snail Mail. Diverse and unexpected sounds are on the menu this Fresh Friday. Let’s get into it. related: Fresh Friday’s – Thundercat, Sun O))) and Arlo Parks Melvins & Napalm Death: Savage Imperial Death March (released April 10, 2026)- Ipecac Recordings related: The Smell Of Napalm Death at Belasco The Melvins and Napalm Death are both metal bands that transcended their genres completely, both being associated more with alternative music and punk rock in modern times for how experimental they are rather than how heavy they are. The most ironic part about this being that both bands are objectively more heavy than most anyone else in
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Take THIS- Win 2 Tickets To See Face To Face At The Novo 4/24
Janky Smooth Central Command
April 6, 2026
Face to Face are playing The Novo on Thursday April 24 2026 in what is shaping up to be one of the most essential punk nights Los Angeles has seen this year. With Unwritten Law and Home Grown providing the O.G. main support and new comers, Ways Away representing a new generation of punks. It’s pretty stacked bill. Buy tickets here or if your wallet is as beat up as your old copy of Don’t Turn Away- enter our giveaway below Face to Face don’t need an introduction- but they deserve one anyway. Since emerging from Victorville in the early ‘90s, the band has been a cornerstone of melodic hardcore, delivering tight, hook-driven punk that refuses to age poorly. Vocalist Trever Keith’s delivery still hits hard and as always, he backs them up with classic riffs that sound as good today as they did in the 90’s. related: St. Patricks Day w/ Flogging Molly and Face To Face The Novo is a room built for moments, and Face to Face are a band that makes them. It’s hard to call this a nostalgia show. It’s hard to call any show a nostalgia show anymore with new generations harvesting old music
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Fresh Friday’s- Thundercat, Sunn 0))) and Arlo Parks
Danny Baraz
April 3, 2026
Happy Fresh Friday! Today we focus on Thundercat- a grammy award winning, musical prodigy that has never let his music education get in the way of writing a good song. His most recent 15 tracks have come packaged in a full length album called Distracted and it may be Thundercat’s most focused work to date. This is definitely a Friday kind of album and I have not been able to stop listening to it all week. This Fresh Friday also see’s new releases by Arlo Parks and feedback wizards, Sunn 0))). Let’s get into it. Thundercat- Distracted (Released April 3rd 2026)- Brainfeeder Thundercat (Stephen Lee Bruner) live shows are displays of intense virtuosity- violent rhythms that would abuse and waterboard most uninitiated players and leaves listeners shell shocked with gaping jaws and wide eyes. I cannot over state this. There is no one in contemporary music playing their instruments and pushing them into uncharted waters like Thundercat and his collaborators- keyboardist Dennis Hamm and an alien drummer named Justin Brown who left me in awe after their most recent Camp Flog Gnaw performance. related: Tyler’s Camp Flog Gnaw Year 10 Intersects w/ Chromakopia Number 1 We can mention Kamasi Washington
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Angel Du$t and SOS Booking Remind Us That They Are The Ones To Watch at 1720
Danny Baraz
April 2, 2026
Hardcore is in the midst of frenzy right now. A common but chaotic part of the cycle for any genre having a moment. Turnstile going for the gold by making their music less appealing to it’s base. Ceremony being enshrined in this generation’s Hardcore Hall of Fame. Scowl dating the industry. It happens to every well established scene, every time there is a renewed interest. And then there’s Angel Du$t… It’s interesting to contrast Angel Du$t and Turnstile- not just because of the heavy collaboration of members between the two bands, historically. It’s a tale of two different approaches. I’m seeing Angel Du$t cement a legacy that is nowhere near being fully realized at this present date. related: Turnstile “Shake It Up” at The Novo It’s been fun watching Angel Du$t evolve their sound organically over time rather than the extreme shift that has been commonplace for bands in the scene the moment the light is shining brightest on them. This is nothing new. The euphemism is that the sound has “matured” which, for both music and people is code for less fun. I do not begrudge people for attempting to make a better life for themselves. I don’t begrudge
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Fresh Fridays: Neurosis, ADULT., Këkht Aräkh, Flea, and King Tuff
Rob Shepyer
March 27, 2026
Welcome back to another Fresh Friday! Today we cover the incredibly unexpected return of Neurosis, as well as new releases from Këkht Aräkh, ADULT., Flea and King Tuff. All of these albums experiment with similar genre-bending wild experimentation to create some grandiose masterpieces; each taking you on their own journey that you really want to lock into. While all across different scenes and sounds, all of these albums do share a similar goal in bringing a more ambitious and artistic experience to the listener than we are used to. related: Janky Fresh Friday – New Dropkick Murphys/Haywire split EP and more Neurosis: An Undying Love For A Burning World (released March 20, 2026): Neurot Recordings related: Acid Bath at Hollywood Palladium The return of Neurosis was wholly unexpected in the music world. After the band’s leader, Scott Kelly, committed professional hara-kiri, cancelling himself as a means of confronting his demons as an abuser, people just assumed that was the last they would be hearing of the band. I was lucky enough to catch Neurosis’ last Los Angeles performance at the short-lived Power of the Riff festival, taking place at The Regent Theater in 2016. For those not fortunate enough to
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Gorillaz Invade Los Angeles With An Arsenal of Media For New Album ‘The Mountain’
Rob Shepyer
February 28, 2026
Gorillaz don’t just release new albums, they release new worlds. From Demon Days to their upcoming latest, The Mountain, each album has its own story, its own physics, its own ensemble cast, and in the case of The Mountain, its own spirituality. Blending eastern traditions and sounds from Hinduism to Islam into their traditional funky alternative sound, Gorillaz’s intention with The Mountain is to put their fans on a spirit quest. They brought this quest to The Hollywood Palladium for 2 nights on February 22 and February 23, 2026; but also through their current interactive exhibit House Of Kong at the Rolling Greens nursery, which we will cover in the second part in this article. related: Gorillaz, The Most Human Band at Youtube Theater Around the world and across time, mountains have always been significant as metaphorical obstacles meant to test believers and help them rediscover their true essence. In a time of much confusion, where the human soul is routinely compromised by what we consume, we are each called to climb our personal mountains and meditate on their peaks to find new meanings for the new world in its new age. As the world changes, so do the animated
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Janky Fresh Friday: New Releases from Peaches, Gorillaz, Rob Zombie and Nothing
Rob Shepyer
February 27, 2026
Happy Janky Fresh Friday! We hope you are transcending the societal madness today. We’d like to present to you 4 tools to do so. Today we have new releases from Peaches, Gorillaz, Rob Zombie and Nothing- four albums from iconic artists who have already established themselves well as weapons of mass destruction in fighting facism and repression. related: Janky Fresh Friday – Angel Du$t, Converge, Charli XCX and femtanyl Peaches: No Lube So Rude (released February 27, 2026): Kill Rock Stars related: Photo Recap – The Teaches Of Peaches at Observatory North Park Peaches is an electroclash institution, a pillar of feminist punk in the 90s, a Canadian. Peaches is still going strong, still putting on the most spirited shows in any genre, still releasing albums that are relevant additions to her discography and to the culture at large. No Lube So Rude may not be her most lyrically profound album, it may not be the densest with singles that will explode on the radio, but it is full of sex anthems that will assuredly pop off live and inspire sexual experiences across the spectrum. I remember the last time I saw Peaches live. I recall thinking, some artists age
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