But do you know what he’s talking about?

Chapter 262: We're doing ANOTHER year?

Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice holiday if that’s a thing for you. I watched NO OTHER CHOICE and HAMNET and ate Ethiopian food so it was a pretty great New Year’s Eve.

Our book WE’RE TAKING EVERYONE DOWN WITH US has been popping up on a shocking number of people’s year end lists. Always flattering and humbling when that happens. Obviously Stefano, myself, and the whole team are so thankful to all of you who checked it out.

And if you didn’t check it out, it is is available in a very handsome collected edition in all good comic shops now. It will be in book shops (and the big mega-corporations that sell books) at the end of this month. Yay for comic shops. Go check it out and see if all the people who said they liked it have bad taste.

“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” - unknown

And yet here we are. I wanted to do some year-end wrap ups in here but hit a sort of wall. I can’t talk about my work really, or not in the way I want, because so much of it is still wrapped up in things I am still working on. I don’t feel like I have the clarity or distance to say anything about it worth saying.

Then I thought about doing a list of favorite comics of the year but I decided against that for a bunch of reasons. The main one being that I didn’t get to read a ton of stuff I know I will love. I read a lot of older comics and jump around a lot, so often new things get excitedly bought and remain unread for a very long time. I didn’t want to omit things simply because I didn’t get to them yet, it would feel like such an incomplete picture as to serve no purpose. The other (more real) reason is that so many people in comics get real pissy and sensitive and I don’t want to deal with people being hurt that their book didn’t make my list. Which is obviously absurd because why would anyone care if I liked their book? I’m a dummy. But alas, not worth it. So let’s just say my favorite comic of the year was Peanuts and move on

I could do favorite chocolate milks, or favorite burgers, or favorite moments, or favorite people but some of that would have no value to any of you and others felt too personal to share (chocolate milks, obvs). So I settled on doing two lists that could at least somewhat tie into my writing. My favorite films of the year and my favorite albums of the year. I’m sure film people and musicians get just as pissy as comic people, but I know a lot less of them so this feels safer. But also music and film inform and influence so much of my work. I watch movies 3 or 4 days a week and listen to music while I write all day. So those are steady sources of creative nourishment for my work and constant influences on the things I make. So hopefully providing these lists give you a little glimpse into how I make what I make.

Or not. You can always just delete this and move on.

Before we start it’s worth noting that a bunch of records that were in very heavy rotation for me this year actually came out last year. They don’t qualify for the best of 2025 list but I figure I’d shout them out since I didn’t do this last year and/or I wasn’t paying as much attention to them last year. So, with that in mind here are the close calls.

SCHEDULE 1 - Crucible

Like if Christian Death put out a record with a lot of street punk influences. The songs are catchy as hell, pretty gothy, and still badass. I love this record.

CHAIN CULT - Harm Reduction

Post punk from Greece. Just haunting, moody, catchy as fuck.

HIGH VIS - Guided Tour

As people here love to debate whether Turnstile are a hardcore band, I assume people in the UK do the same about High Vis. I find that insufferable but I do find myself explaining High Vis as the record Blur would put out if they grew up on Agnostic Front records instead of…. whatever Blur listened to, I guess.

ANTENNA - s/t

One of Tim Wall from Royal Headache’s many side projects but this is by far my favorite thing he’s ever done. It’s just an EP. No idea if there is more coming or even if this is a real band, but these 5 soul influenced lo-fi rock jams have a Phil Spector vibe and just stay with you.

DELUXXE - If You Were Me

I guess I’ve been in kind of a post-punk/shoegazey mood for a while but this record just really is in my head all the time. They’ve been quiet for a bit but I hope they’re just riding out the Buffalo winter (which is like 10 months) and writing a new record.

HAYWIRE - Conditioned For Demolition

The most hyped band in hardcore are also probably the most fun. This record still rules and with the year they’ve had and the work they’ve put in, I’d feel dumb not shouting out what a big part of my 2025 soundtrack they were.

GRACIE ABRAMS - The Secret Of Us

Records just real fucking good. Not my fault.

CHUBBY & THE GANG - And Then There Was…

Since they broke up in 2025 I’ve spent so much time revisiting the whole catalog. Honestly one of my favorite bands of the last decade. Football chant hooks, smart and absurd lyrics, oi! and hardcore influences mixed with rock n’ roll swagger. Long live Chubby & The Gang.

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On to the best of 2025.

Obviously we all assumed my top record of the year was going to be the Taylor Swift record. I am as shocked as all of you that it isn’t. Fate of Ophelia is a banger though. There were also a lot of other great records that didn’t make my list from folks like Plosivs, Dazy, Mil-Spec, Gumm, Planning For Burial, Yellow Eyes, Cosmic Joke, Weatherday, Spaced, MSPAINT, Explosions In The Sky, Guided By Voices, School Drugs, and Betón Armé. But we’re here to talk about my top 30 of 25 let’s go!

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30. CHAT PILE / HAYDEN PEDIGO - In The Earth Again

Chat Pile’s usual Jesus Lizard / AmRep sound is cut nicely with some quieter, more ambient offerings. The contrast between quiet beauty and walls of noise made for a good writing soundtrack for me.

29. ANGEL DU$T - Singles

Is it a cop out to put two singles on the list and call it a release? Sure. But I love these songs and the full length isn’t out yet. Obviously Angel Du$t comes from the same drinking fountain as Turnstile and for a while I’d say they were competing to be the most interesting band in hardcore. I think Angel Du$t are about to run away with it though. Just throwing weird influences and bizarre parts into everything and it just works.

28. FACS - Wish Defense

I’d never really listened to Chicago’s FACS before this year but they really got me here. Strong Shellac and June of 44 influence has me really excited about this whole record.

27. DARK THOUGHTS - Highway To The End

Just fast and catchy and snotty in the best way. I don’t have much interest in listening to Screeching Weasel in 2025 (or 2026) but Dark Thoughts just scratched any itch I had with style.

26. AGRICULTURE - The Spiritual Sound

My tastes tend to run much poppier these days and honestly I was never much of a metalhead. But every once in a while a metal band grabs me, and when it’s experimental black metal with one foot in Buddhism I find that I can’t shake free from it.

25. CLAIMED CHOICE - S/T

Seems like Oi! influences are really dominating a lot of punk and hardcore stuff coming out in the last couple of years. I don’t know a lot about Claimed Choice but the first time I heard this record I just knew it was going to be one of my favorites of the year. And here we are.

24. RADIOACTIVITY - Time Won’t Bring Me Down

Radioactivity returns after a 10 year hiatus and don’t miss a step. I’ve always preferred their other band The Marked Men but this record is pretty damn great. Just fast and hooky garage rock that has some real sadness to it.

23. CRUSH YOUR SOUL - Living Gracious

Did I want a new Mindforce record in 2025? Of course. Is having Jay from Mindforce sing for another metallic hardcore band that absolutely crushes the next best thing? Yes. The record could do with some more heavy metal riffs, but it’s pretty heavy and very fun. And maybe Mindforce will give us a new one in 2026 so I can stop wanting this band to be that band.

22. ALGERNON CADWALLADER - Trying To Not Have A Thought

Algernon used to be a band I’d see play in basements and I was always sort of shocked they weren’t bigger. Then they broke up and got much bigger. Now they’re back and are pretty much the undisputed current kings of jangly emo pop. Honestly, barring a new Cap’n Jazz or Promise Ring record in 2026 this will remain in heavy rotation when I need headbopping sing alongs.

21. DRAIN - … Is Your Friend

The most posi feel good band in hardcore isn’t giving up the crown anytime soon. So fun always. Drain forever.

20. EMMA RUTH RUNDLE - Music From The Bella Vista

Gorgeous and ethereal piano-driven songs that instantly change your mood. Somewhere between ambient and classical, this record is the soundtrack to a lot of late night writing for me.

19. TURNSTILE - Never Enough

Hard to have a bigger year than Turnstile, and deservedly so. Amazing live band always, not afraid to do their own thing but still pay tribute to where they came from, and they just write great fucking songs. I might prefer the early stuff a bit more, but it’s hard to argue that this whole record doesn’t just make me smile.

18. JULIEN BAKER & TORRES - Send A Prayer My Way

I’m not a big country guy save for a few dozen albums, but I’ll follow Julien Baker wherever she goes. And I’m happy I did. This is just gorgeous songwriting.

17. BULLSHIT DETECTOR - Criminal Dreams

I’ll be honest. The first time I heard their vocals my first thought was “coulda been amazing but this is too much.” I was wrong. Bullshit Detector rules. Gloomy post-punk mixed with skinhead anthems and the most gravelly vocals you may ever hear. Leatherface and Motorhead are wondering if your throat hurts after a set.

16. GOOD LUCK - Big Dreams, Mister

My love for Good Luck knows no bounds. Into Lake Griffy is a perfect album of heartbreaking hooks, weird rhythms, and the most furious jangly pop songs ever written. And after disappearing for 14 years it just makes me so happy to have them back. All these songs are meant to be sung along to as loud as you can.

15. SNOCAPS - s/t

I love Waxahatchee so much. Those first few records are truly some of my favorite albums of their time. Likewise, I’ve always been a fan of Katie’s sister Allison’s solo stuff and her band Swearin’. The later Waxahatchee stuff has been inarguably great but hasn’t grabbed me the same way as the early stuff. Maybe it’s the Country-ness. So I was so happy when they announced they were working together on a more pop-driven record. And yeah, I love it.

14. END IT - Wrong Side Of Heaven

Who’da thought Baltimore would be the best city for hardcore bands? Best straightforward hardcore record of the year.

13. GREET DEATH - Die In Love

Just big, atmospheric shoegaze. Often shoegaze records make for great background music, and I mean that in a good way. But this record is just catchy enough that it can’t help but grab your attention but never shifts into something that it isn’t.

12. MODERN LIFE IS WAR - Life On The Moon

I’ve written about how much I dug this record in the newsletter before, but it’s all still true. After so many years, for a band to just so fearlessly try new things is sort of awe-inspiring. Do they all work? No. But some of them work so shockingly well that you can’t help but root for them. And even when they don’t, they’re still making something interesting. And the best moments stand among the best moments of their impressive catalog.

11. SCOWL - Are We All Angels

When Scowl were a straightforward hardcore band you could see them straining at the confines of the genre. It is what made them so fun. Now they’re dropped all that and morphed into maybe the most angry pop band in the world and it rules. Just undeniably catchy songwriting and one of the best frontpeople in music.

10. MILITARIE GUN - God Bless The Gun

Militarie Gun are never going to write the record you expect. It’s always going to be better.

9. MATT JENCIK & MIDWIFE - Never Die

I didn’t know much about Matt Jencik before this record. I guess he played in Don Caballero and Slint for a bit. That’s cool. Not why I put this on though. Midwife’s No Depression In Heaven is one of my favorite records of 2024. Just a heartbreakingly haunting and beautiful record. Like a ghost wrote a record for Joni Mitchell to sing. So I was excited for new music. It’s slightly less ethereal, a little more noisy, but still stunning.

8. CLIPSE - Let God Sort Em Out

I haven’t been listening to a lot of hip-hop lately. Just haven’t found the right stuff. And I was never big on Clipse. But everyone is right about this one. Goddamn is this record good. Just a stunner from beginning to end. Smart as hell and makes you nod your head.

7. STEREOLAB - Instant Holograms On Metal Film

The queens and kings of Avant-Pop return and it is glorious. If you’ve never listened to Stereolab I’d start with Switched On or Mars Audiac Quintet and work your way up to this. But it’s worth the journey. It’s the closest you’re going to come to falling in love/planning a museum robbery while smoking cigarettes in a Paris cafe in the 1960s.

6. DEAFHEAVEN - Lonely People With Power

Remember what I said about Black Metal before? Still true. If you work at it, this is a really beautiful record.

5. SPIRITUAL CRAMP - Rude

Spiritual Cramp get better with each release. Still drawing from dub and reggae, ‘77 punk, and 60’s rock influences to create something new and also achingly familiar.

4. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Nebraska ‘82

Really hard to figure out where to put this. Nebraska is in my top 5 albums of all time. Just a staggering work of genius. This dive into both the demos for it and the unreleased full band record is fascinating. It is something I never thought I’d hear. I am fascinated from an archeological standpoint. But I also don’t think any of it does much except make me appreciate the original album even more. Which, when all things are considered, is a feat.

3. HAYWIRE / NO GUARD - Shirts vs. Skins

I already talked about my love of Haywire on here, and that continues with this split ep. But the real takeaway was introducing me to No Guard. In these 3 songs (2 originals and a Haywire cover) I fell in love with this band. Poppy hardcore in the vein of bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Token Entry, or even Kid Dynamite. Just so energetic and fun. I went back and found their first EP and their demo and they are just as good. My guess is when they put out a full length this year they will be a lot of folks new favorite band. Maybe mine.

2. HOME FRONT - Watch It Die

Didn’t think I could like Home Front more than I did with their last LP. Turns out I can. Street punk meets synth pop with a post punk sheen. The weird bastard child of Blitz and New Order. It’s fun to see them finally getting some recognition because I’ve been insisting they were one of the best bands going right now. Can’t wait to see what they do next.

1. SKINHEAD - It’s A Beautiful Day, What A Beautiful Day

Yeah. If you spent anytime with me in 2025 you knew this was going to be my record of the year. I loved the first 2 EPs but I didn’t fully get it. But when 2023’s Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt came out I finally realized how genius Skinhead was. Somewhere between a concept band about a rough life and full on celebration of violence, Skinhead are full of incredibly catchy poppy hardcore songs with some Oi! influence. But the real power of the band is Josh Long’s storytelling. A friend of mine described Skinhead records as being the musical version of early Scorsese films and that feels sort of accurate. But there is so much humor mixed in, along with remorse, and devilish delight. The songs are hilarious and terrifying and sad and they get stuck in your head. This was the record I was most excited for in 2025 and it did not disappoint.

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That’s it for me.

Stay safe. Take care of each other. What did you enjoy listening to in 2025?

-Matthew Rosenberg

NYC 1/3/26