Each month, tons of new music from many taste-spanning genres is released into a fast-consuming, unforgiving market; it can be tough to get a handle on what’s new before it’s on to the next. In an attempt to highlight the standout releases, at the end of each month, AUX staff re-cap the month in Punk, Metal, Indie/Pop/Rock, Hip Hop, Electronic, and Pop with the top five releases in each. Consider it your cheat sheet for year-end lists.

Top 5 Punk Releases:
June

 

Burning Love – Rotten Thing to Say

Sure, their Poison Idea-referencing tour-only cover caused a minor internet commotion, but Burning Love have a lot more to offer than an attention-grabbing photo of Toronto’s stupid mayor. Growing from their earliest incarnation as a Zeke-style hardcore rock ‘n’ roll band, Burning Love are now officially their own disturbing, heavy thing, a band defined by the vocals of local legend Chris Colohan (Cursed, the Swarm, Left for Dead) but owing as much to an assortment of punk, metal, and hardcore influences as the long shadow of their frontman. This record is dark and fast, the riffs are catchy as hell, and Colohan is in top, miserable form.

Future of the Left – The Plot Against Common Sense

If you like music so smart it makes you feel dumb, you’re already a fan of this band, and you were once a fan of mclusky, that meanest of Welsh post-hardcore outfits and the precursor to Future of the Left’s more experimental approach. With a sound that bounces between the Minutemen, Devo, Sugar, and the cruelest depths of hardcore and punk, Future of the Left have long been harbingers of rock and roll truth, flinging vitriol at everything wrong in this lousy world. Balancing cutting and hilarious lyrics with all the unexpectedly catchy hooks you can handle, this record is another high water mark for a band who probably don’t that I said that, but really.

Turbonegro – Sexual Harassment
	Yes, the venerable Hank von Helvetes has vacated the vocalist position, but the ship must sail on. Now fronted by the rawer, gruffer Duke of Nothing, Turbonegro has succeeded in delivering the exact mix of sexual shenanigans and Hellacopters-style punk ‘n’ roll they have built a career on. No surprises. Just a lot of homoeroticism and riffs for days.

Dopamines – Vices
	The Dopamines are, along with the Copyrights, kind of the best at this. Straight up, this sounds exactly like every other Dopamines record. It’s driving and it’s catchy and it has enough detours to keep things more engaging in the long haul than their less creative peers. If you love punk like this, you love this, and you already know it. If you don’t, move along.

Make Do And Mend – Everything You Ever Loved

Make Do And Mend have always had something weird lurking below the surface of their seemingly conventional post-Hot Water Music take on post-hardcore (so, so post). It began to surface with their last full length, End Measured Mile, but has fully risen like a rock radio phoenix here. Anyone who bemoans the loss of another paint-by-numbers orgcore band is a plain idiot, which makes this record an eve greater triumph — knowing it will alienate close-minded portions of the band’s fanbase. It’s an album as inventive as it is accessible, as creative as it catchy. Step off haters. Band rules.

Surprises, disappointments and albums to watch for next month

Surprise of the month: It can veer into territory to saccharinely poppy for even me, but there are some definite jams on the new Mixtapes album (Even on the Worst Nights, from No Sleep). They’re in a real “it’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans” situation, because honestly, their fans are deadly horrible.

Disappointments: Dude from the Offspring refuses to bring back the braids.

Out in July: New records from Teenage Bottlerocket, Gaslight Anthem, Glocca Morra, and more.