Evil Weevil, 2010

Two tracks of gritty, raw-throated, impassioned punk rock from the Philadelphia quartet – think Lawrence Arms, The Menzingers, et al. Those who grab the vinyl also get access to a third download track, which continues the trend of aggressive, (probably) alcohol-fuelled catchiness.

Creator-Destructor, 2010

The debut from California’s Seahaven takes influences from both Brand New and Crime In Stereo, but ends up sounding like neither. This is a good thing – their melodic indie-punk mixture has its own infectious and somewhat downbeat character, which avoids drowning in its gloomy waters due to the frequent injections of youthful buoyancy. Very promising.

If You Make It / Salinas, 2010

When The Night Comes, the sophomore effort from “hometownless” rockers The State Lottery, is a commendable work fusing the lines between late 90s punk rock and the current wave of Americana. Check out opening track, “Coming Alive,” and the title piece, “When The Night Comes” for a taste of the wonder of Niki McUmber on saxophone. She really adds something special to an already spectacular album.

Glasstone, 2010

Female-fronted post-punkers with their debut mini-album. The Bristol quartet fire out some pretty decent danceable and stylish, Blondie-vibed scuzzy punk tunes, and show a more moody turn of pace with the progressive ender “Little Bones”, suggesting there’s a bit more depth to them – or at least there could be in the future.

Paper + Plastick, 2010

Recent Paper + Plastick signees Restorations come out swinging on their debut 4-track EP Strange Behavior, released digitally on May 4th with a 12 inch vinyl edition forthcoming. This isn’t your average “young, loud, and snotty” punk record, but rather a taste of more lush, complex instrumentation and slow, lingering melodies that work themselves into your brain for days to come. Recommended for fans of Jena Berlin and Lucero.

Kind Of Like, 2010

It’s A Trap! is a seriously catchy EP from the Pennsylvania emo scene. The lyrics are fantastic and the vocals take center stage, replacing the usual melodic guitar lines you’d expect. Outside of that, it’s a fairly standard release, so you probably know if you’ll like this kind of thing or not. RIYL: Snowing, Grown Ups, Stegosaur, etc.

Red Scare Industries, 2010

Scranton, PA’s The Menzingers up the ante for pop-punk on their first full-length release for Red Scare Industries. With stronger hooks, bigger vocals, and a better production value than 2007’s A Lesson In The Abuse Of Information Technology, think a modern day The Clash with less of the reggae influence.

Self-released, 2010

What’s great about Bristol’s Everything We Left Behind is that they play with the same wide-eyed honesty as Chesire Cat / Dude Ranch–era Blink 182. Pull Back And Go is pop-punk that’s fast, raw, ultra melodic, slightly awkward, pure in its youthful exuberance, and most of all, a hell of a lot of fun.

Wolf At Your Door, 2010

The lyrics will probably divide listeners on this one: singer Mike Duce doesn’t hold back with his blunt and vitriolic opinions on young life in the UK (unemployment, dissatisfaction, Facebook, daytime TV, Xbox 360). But there’s no disputing his knack for shaping those lyrics into extremely catchy choruses, and the rest of the band are equally adept musically, providing a very tight backdrop of melodic hardcore.

No Sleep, 2010

On their sophomore effort, these Pennsylvania pop-punkers stay reassuringly on aim. The Upsides is a pop-punk record through and through: enthusiastic, fast, youthful, abundant in its nasal vocals and group chants. The songs about growing up, touring, hometown malaise and homesickness, best friends and (ex-)girlfriends are immediately recognisable – which is bad if you want originality, good if want something fun to sing along to.

Bridge Nine, 2010

There was a lot of anticipation for this record after the ambitious Is Dead, and the Long Island quintet don’t disappoint. Or not much, anyway – with its emotionally-barbed rock, noisy punk outbursts, and perpetual thirst for experimentation, I Was Trying… is better than its predecessor, if not quite the gamechanger some predicted (and a touch too reminiscent of fellow Islanders Brand New).

Tangled Talk, 2010

Bastions play some fairly brutal hardcore, somewhat like a more straightforward Dillinger Escape Plan, or a more metallic Gallows. The Welsh quartet’s third EP shows a band high on confidence, their abundant aggression focused into songs that are impressively tight (if still deliberately raw). Originally self-released, this is being re-pressed on Tangled Talk complete with screenprinted artwork.