5 New Bands to Disrupt Your Playlist This January
The new year kicks off with an exciting run of emerging artists, and the momentum is only building. Fueled by your picks, this series shines a light on the next wave of bands to watch. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed — let’s jump in once again.
XCOMM
XCOMM are a hardcore punk band from Venice Beach formed in 2023. Their sound pulls from classic hardcore, while reflecting the tension of the present.
The band is signed to Blowed Out Records and recorded their debut album, ‘Time To Burn’, with producer Ross Robinson (Korn, The Cure, Slipknot, Glassjaw, At The Drive In). The record is coming later this year and captures a direct and unsentimental approach. Songs are short, fast and built around momentum rather than excess. Early releases ‘Reasons’ and ‘Fake ID’ set the tone. Both tracks are compact and blend frustration with a sense of humour. ‘Fake ID’ draws from real experiences of being turned away from shows and turns that annoyance into a blunt, high-speed track with a heavy closing section.
XCOMM’s videos reflect the same mindset. They balance confrontation with irony and avoid taking themselves too seriously. The band’s perspective is rooted in rejection, impatience and a refusal to wait for approval.
In a short time, XCOMM have opened for Hatebreed, appeared at major festivals, earned press recognition and secured high-profile support slots, including a sold-out benefit show with the Foo Fighters in LA. With their debut album due very soon, the band is definitely one to keep your eyes on!
RONKER
RONKER are a Belgian speednoise band formed in 2020. Their music moves fast and hits hard, but it never stays in one lane. They blend noise rock, post-punk and hardcore into a sound that feels sharp and restless.
Singles like ‘No Sweat’ and ‘Limelighter’ introduce RONKER at full force. Both tracks are fast, physical and confrontational, capturing the band at their most direct. ‘No Sweat’ is tight and aggressive, built around momentum and sharp hooks, while ‘Limelighter’ leans into chaos, pushing rhythm and noise until it feels close to coming apart. Together, they define the core of RONKER’s sound, at times evoking the raw, confrontational energy of Frank Carter.
Their newest single, ‘Snuff’, steps away from that intensity. It is the band’s most restrained track to date, focusing on loneliness and substance abuse without relying on speed or volume. The atmosphere is heavy and controlled, with a vocal taken from a single demo take to keep the performance raw and unfiltered.
All three tracks feed into RONKER’s upcoming album, ‘Respect The Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever’, due January 30, 2026 via LABELMAN. With this release, they sound more focused and deliberate, while still delivering the impact they’re known for.
Twin Skeletons
Twin Skeletons are a UK alternative rock band formed in 2023. Since forming, they’ve sold out venues across the UK and impressed audiences with a mix of anthemic singalongs, pop-punk hooks and heavy metal breakdowns. Their sound draws from bands like Paramore, Bring Me The Horizon, Spiritbox, Poppy and Wolf Alice, creating music that is diverse, catchy and addictive.
They hit hard nearly three years ago with their debut single, ‘Deadweight’. The track blends pop-leaning vocals with driving guitar riffs, creating a fast-paced sound that never sits still. Lyrically, it explores the tension between following your own habits and blaming the world around you.
The third single from their debut EP, ‘DID YOU GET WHAT YOU WANTED’, ‘MAKE ME’ adds groovy electronic synths to Twin Skeletons’ signature heavy riffs and bold vocals, giving the track a fresh dimension while keeping the energy explosive. The biggest highlight, however, is their latest release, ‘PACESETTER’, which captures the band at their most chaotic and high-energy, proving they’re evolving in the right direction.
Blending hooks, heaviness and electronic touches into a sound all their own, Twin Skeletons go all in on stage, using props, lighting and design to make every show a full experience. They’ll be hitting venues across the UK from early February through mid-April, so better check them out.
Self Torque
Self Torque are a Brighton indie-punk trio built from the ashes of previous projects led by vocalist and guitarist Gabriel MacKenzie. Completing the lineup are Jay Cross on bass and Luke Ellis on drums. Together, they’re a band forged on the DIY scene, battle-hardened and precise, with live shows that are supremely locked-in and full of energy.
Gabriel’s vocals carry a raw, urgent passion. Often recorded in first takes, they balance honesty with distressed melodies and bursts of intensity. The band thrives on contrast: songs move between weary resignation and primal survival instinct, combining emotional weight with a stubborn, driving energy.
Musically, Self Torque fuse elements of first-wave British pop-punk — think Buzzcocks and Cock Sparrer — with fuzz-laden melodrama reminiscent of Weezer. They also tap into garage-punk urgency in the vein of Rocket From The Crypt and The Hives, keeping the energy immediate and gripping.
Tracks like ‘Wicker Incident’ and ‘(All The Things I) Wannabe’ show the band’s range, from short, chugging Ramones-style bursts to dynamic, reflective explorations of identity and memory. Self Torque are already making waves in Brighton and beyond, and they are a band built to be seen, heard and remembered for sure.
Sick Joy
Born in Newcastle’s underground scene and shaped in Brighton, Sick Joy is the project of singer and multi-instrumentalist Mykl Barton. The name came from a late-night bar chat, but fits the music perfectly —exploring contrasts like beauty and ruin, joy and despair. Barton channels years of chaos into songs where jagged riffs meet big, soaring choruses. He describes the sound as Pixies, Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Slipknot all together, or in short — “heavy pop”.
On stage, Sick Joy becomes a single, high-energy organism. Barton’s intense songwriting turns into a shared release, and the band’s live shows are both powerful and cathartic. They’ve earned attention across UK press and festivals, supporting acts like Deaf Havana, Pearl Jam, and Pixies.
Their new album, ‘More Forever’, expands the band’s alt-rock sound with industrial touches — sharp drums, jagged synths and lyrics about grief, love and survival. One of the first singles, ‘Cinnamon Burn’, is a definite standout: it starts slow, then explodes into an incredibly catchy, powerful track that sticks in your head for days. ‘More Forever’ was written over a year between a Newcastle attic and a Brighton lock-up, then recorded in a Spanish studio with acclaimed producer Alain Johannes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Chris Cornell, etc.) and later mixed by Josh ‘Hoagie’ Harrison (Royal Blood, The Cure). Give it a listen, you’d love it!