Toys That Kill are really perfecting their recipe of Off With Their Heads anthems with Screeching Weasel singalong parts delivered in their quintessential F.Y.P snotty style here! Since reviewing it I procured myself a physical copy which includes a gatefold-jacketful of lyrics and classic Todd Congeliere art. I just asked Todd what Triple Sabotage means but apparently that’s for me to know and for you to not know.

Tidal just emailed me to tell me I listened to this album 4 times as much as the next most listened to album (Alien Nosejob) last month. Yes the algorithm sucks and it’s often difficult to find stuff but Tidal is still better than settling for a music app that undervalues (read: rips off) artists and/or funds “defence” technology just because it’s easier to find the latest Huggy Bear release. I don’t feel the need to fill the world with more plastic necessarily either but/so this may be the only record from 2026 of which I’m (still) in need of a physical copy.

It’s a tie! A pair of releases from Chris Mason’s fabulous Dirt Cult Label. Am I allowed to do that? Probably not but hey it feels sorta nepotistic including either of these on my list since they’re all my besties. It should come as no surprise that I love the Dumpies leaning into their unabashed F.Y.P worship and my educated guess is that without Dumpies there maybe wouldn’t be any Physicalist so what me worry?

With Uniboys, GBV and Mod Lang releasing new material this year there’s no shortage of top notch powerpop but this is the band all the punks wearing Cheap Trick shirts should be listening to. Majoring in powerpop with a minor in guitar rock, this amped up Beatles (amplified AND on amphetamines;) was a total oversight that I didn’t mention Softjaw in my year end “Favourite Bands I Played With This Year” in 2025. Bonus points to Oakland’s Dandy Boy Records and Tapes for (finally) compiling all their previous and mostly digital releases on vinyl.

And speaking of favourite bands I played with this year, Frankfurt’s One Trick Pony are a great live band and super nice to boot. I mean all the bands we play with are great and super nice but One Trick Pony stand out for me, kinda reminding me of Seattle’s Wimps musically and lyrically but maybe a chin hair more hardcore? They don’t eat shit, they kick butts. So fun!