Punk Rock Record Reviews: The Best of 2026, Part Seven.

CommentaryPunk RockAlbum Review
Written By Paul Holstein

I listen primarily to punk, with my preferred subgenre being street punk. Speed rock, garage, skate punk, hardcore, pop punk, oi!, ska, grindcore, crust punk, mincecore, psychobilly and even rockabilly fit the bill if done right. If I can catch a live show, it gives the release an edge. Here are a few releases from 2026 that I recommend you check out. These are in no particular order; however, I’m only reviewing releases that are in contention for the best release of the year. If I’m reviewing it, I liked it. When the New Year rolls around, I’ll put them in order and do a final article of the best of the best. Drop a comment at the bottom if there is a 2025 release you think I should check out; I most definitely will.

The Sleights / Land of the Wolves "King of the Mountain" (split)
Released: May 22, 2026
Format: Vinyl LP, Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: Colorado Springs
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

The Sleights made my list of the top 50 releases of 2025 last year with their "This One's Gonna Hurt" LP and "Atari" EP, coming in at #6 and beating out a ton of greats. That put them at the top of my list of releases to review; as soon as I saw this, I jumped on it. The worst thing a band can do (from my perspective) is to slow down, and they did not do that. If anything, these are even faster than their other songs, but with all of the catchiness and production level. It's a split, so we get four songs by The Sleights and 3 more by Land of Wolves. Land of Wolves (from Seattle) is a good fit for a split; I didn't like them quite as much as The Sleights, but that's a very high bar. I can only hope this means that both bands have full-lengths on the horizon and maybe a tour that brings them out my way. Get this quick on yellow with red splatter and red with yellow splatter vinyl. "Nose Dive," "Burn It Down," and "Power's Out" all went directly to my current playlist. Fans of Teenage Bottlerocket, The Queers, Teen Idols, Screeching Weasel, NOFX, Sloppy Seconds.

XCOMM "Time To Burn"
Released: May 22, 2026
Format: Digital Download
Label: Blowed Out Records
From: Los Angeles, CA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

XCOMM has the ferocity of bands like The Clowns and The Pears, but at times I was reminded of Direct Hit! or even hardcore as extreme as Terror or any of the Detroit beat-down hardcore crew. The video for "Fake ID" reminded me of something that The Chats might do. All of the videos are great, they put a ton of work into this debut release and it really paid off (make sure to check the videos out, I'll post a few of them below). I found it hard to pick my favorite songs, but in the end I selected the ones that didn't have slow parts that would break up my punk rock play list ("Hot Pursuit, One And Nothing" and "Pirates" for example). I ended up with "Purity", "Reasons", "Fake ID", and "Borrowed Hapiness". These guys are way too young to be this good, catch them live at a club while you still can. Seriously, watch these videos.

Nashville Pussy "10 Inches of Pussy: Season 1"
Released: May 22, 2026
Format: 45PRM 10" vinyl, digital download
Label: Slinging Pig
From: Atlanta, GA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

With song titles like "King Shit Of Fuck Mountain" and "Jacking Off And Taking Names," you know exactly what to expect. While I'm more of a fan of the ripping fast songs on "Let Them Eat Pussy," I'll take what I can get from Nashville Pussy (especially if this means another tour that comes through Detroit). I saw them a bunch of times on their early tours when Corey Parks was still on bass, and she would blow a huge fireball over the audience and kick fans (one being me) in the stomach (I did throw a beer on her; I deserved it). Blaine would smoke blunts with the audience until his eyes were so bloodshot that he could barely keep them open and pour a full beer down Ruyter's throat (while she played a lead on a level with K.K. Downing or Randy Rhoads). This is their first new studio recording (all analog!) in seven years, and it's relatively slow and heavy. It bleeds AC/DC while still being classic Nashville Pussy. At the height of their fame, they had a Grammy nomination and played stadium shows. I'd guess they will keep it up until they die, and I'll keep listening and going to their shows. Fans of AC/DC, Motorhead, The Supersuckers, The Hookers.

Acidez "La Ley De La Calle" EP
Released: May 22, 2026
Format: CD, digital download
Label: Bam Bam Records
From: Guadalajara, Mexico
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Street Punk from Mexico (since 2003, with a ton of releases before this one). 2022's "In Punk We Thrash" is one of my all-time favorite street punk albums. I was lucky enough to catch Acidez live around that time when they came through Detroit, and it was amazing. They have steadily moved their sound towards thrash/metal, but it works and gives them a clean sound that begs to be played at a high volume. All 5 new songs are great, and I assume sung (screamed) mostly in Spanish. The album title translates to "The Law Of Street", which makes perfect sense given the extreme cover art. What I wouldn't give to see these guys play live in a small bar in Guadalajara. Essential. Do not move on to the next review until you have played these songs! Fans of The Casualties, The Unseen, The Virus, Cheap Sex, Starving Wolves, A Global Threat.

Western Addiction "Psychedelic Munitions"
Released: May 22, 2026
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, cassette, digital download
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
From: San Francisco, CA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

This is the first time that I really took the time to listen to Western Addiction. I guess I feared overproduction and too much deviation from punk rock towards just rock. I was impressed by the minimalist videos, which feature mostly just the band cranking out the songs. When they have a banner, it's small and looks handmade. Most importantly, though, is the fact that not a single song breaks 3 minutes, and most are at or under 2 (allowing me to commit to giving this a complete playthrough). I eventually played it so many times that I ran out of free Bandcamp plays. My first thought was that I liked it; even the longer, slower songs like "The Whippoorwill" were catchy and kept up the intensity. In the end, I liked it a lot. I'm going to keep on playing this, and we'll see if it holds up enough to end up on the end-of-year countdown. "The Last Witch" and "Pyschedelic Munitions" ended up on my current playlist. Fans of Propaghandi, Good Riddance, A Wilhelm Scream, XCOMM, The Pears.

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Hebert and The Boys "S/T"
Released: April 28, 2026
Format: Digital download
Label: Self-released
From: New Haven, CT
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Fuck society. Honestly, the cover art and band name almost led me to skip this one (sometimes a band name or the cover art just doesn't draw me in enough to give a release a listen, with so many new releases to get through). I'm glad that I gave it a shot, because I loved it immediately. It's only three songs, but the perfect mix of hardcore and sing-a-long oi! It looks like this may be a three-song Bandcamp preview from their upcoming 7"? If so, I will definitely be on the lookout for the full release; they are way, way up on my list of bands to watch. All three songs went directly to my current playlist, and their "Hebert and the Boys" (theme song) is one of my favorite Oi! songs of the year so far. Oi!

Cittizins "The Last Resort"
Released: May 8, 2026
Format: Vinyl LP, digital download
Label: Friends Family Forever Records
From: New England
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

14 songs of top-shelf sing-a-long Oi!. I'd never heard of these guys before this, but apparently everyone else has given guest appearances by members of Dropkick Murphys, Haywire 617, Skinhead, Blood for Blood, Conservative Military Image, Yellow Stitches, and so many more. Dropkick Murphys and Haywire 617 put together a collaboration that is near the top of the best releases of 2026 so far (check out "Citizen I.C.E."), so I jumped on this as soon as I saw it. If you just pick out the songs about Skinheads with "Skinhead" in the name ("Bad Skinhead" w/Haywire 617, "Skinhead" w/The Drunks & Skinhead, and "Known Skinhead"), you are going to have a great group of songs that would already propel this up to potentially the best Oi! album of the year. "The Last Resort" (the title song) was catchy and had me singing along, and "War Inside" was the closet to the hardcore sound that I'm usually after. This album has it all, if you like Oi! This is essential. I don't know a lot about this band, since they have no presence on Bandcamp, Facebook, or Discogs, and their Instagram page has only a few posts. Hopefully that just means that they are up and coming, and there is a lot more to look forward to. Excellent debut.

Subversive Intent S/T
Released: May 1, 2026
Format: Vinyl LP, Digital download
Label: Rebirth Records
From: San Diego, CA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

10 songs of hardcore perfection, old-school NYHC meets modern beatdown. I couldn't find much on this band, other than that they are from San Diego, but you can find them through Rebirth Records. This is hardcore with a message, having a lot to say about politicians, billionaires, and petrofascists. I'm pretty well read, but I had to look up "petrofascist" (a political system that depends heavily on oil and gas wealth). Through all of this, the music holds up. "Capitulation," "Ready 2 Go," "Subversive Intent," and "Coerced Perception" ended up on my current playlist, but there wasn't a bad song on here (nor did it ever let up). As always, donate what you can, but this is "name your price" on Bandcamp with no minimum—so either way I highly recommend that you download this and add it to your collection. Fans of Battalion Of Saints, Poison Idea, Negative Approach, Asspatch, The Sissy Boys.

Convict Class "Not The Enemy"
Released: 2026, TBD
Format: Vinyl LP, CD, digital download.
Label: Randale Records
From: Warrnambool, Australia
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Convict Class is a four-piece out of Australia, and this is their second release (after 2024's "Generation of Discontent"). This one was a recommendation from world-renowned photographer and punk rock writer Dick Slaughter, who said that they killed it at Rebellion (I really need to get out to that one of these years). U.K. punk that brings me back to the magic of early Sex Pistols, with sing-along songs shouting out their anger over politics and class. I had a pre-release copy for review and couldn't find a proper song or video from the current release to post, so I'll leave you with their first proper video from the last one. I'm an old-school, old-school punk, and if you are too, check this out. Fans of Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Sham 69, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, U.K. Subs, Anti-Nowhere League.

Poise "Iron Foot"
Released: May 22, 2026
Format: 7" vinyl, Cassette, Digital download
Label: Human Future Records
From: San Diego, CA
Photo of the album cover that is being reviewed.

Self-described as d-beat skull-crushing punk rock fuck! I'd be hard pressed to come up with something better, so I'll go with that. There were times when I wished the vocals (screams) were a bit louder, but other than that there is not much to complain about. This starts off at a furious pace and rarely ever slows down (only "Knotted Crown," which is inexplicably included amidst all of these bangers). "Star-Strangled" ended up being my favorite, but this rages from start to end.

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Paul Holstein
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