5 must-hear records by Phoenix bands

Long drives are great for getting in touch with yourself. You have scenery to look at, reflect on, and the miles go by either fast or slow, depending on your frame of mind. I drive across the country twice a year. It’s a long drive, and I won’t bore you with why I drive from Phoenix to Maine (or Maine to Phoenix), but I’ve grown to love the drive.

Currently, my travel playlist (which has the clever title, “Travelling Tunes”)  is over 1000 songs. More than enough to listen to different songs that I like for the entire trip if I wanted to, and I’m always adding to it. On the most recent trip from Maine to Phoenix, I decided to use some of my time to listen to new music from Phoenix bands, and as I did, I added some of it to my playlist. However, I didn’t add some of it, and here’s my reasoning why.

Knife’s Edge — “Let The Hard Times Roll”
The first local band with a 2025 release that I listened to on the list was Knife’s Edge. These dudes are singlehandedly trying to bring Oi music back to the desert and doing it with good measure, too. I listened to their latest record, “Let The Hard Times Roll,” driving across the top of New York state on I-90. 

If you’ve ever driven on I-90, which I get after dropping down from Vermont and going through Troy, New York (birthplace of Uncle Sam), you’ll probably remember that it is kind of pretty. There is nothing pretty about Knife’s Edge, and when I listen to Oi music, which I don’t do often enough, I don’t want it to be pretty. I want it to get my blood flowing, and Knife’s Edge did just that. 

“Let The Hard Times Roll” was good background music for the drive, though, and so much so that I listened to it twice all the way through, so it got me about forty or so miles past the first signs for the Erie Canal. I added two of the songs to the travelling mix right away. I really like the opening track, “Last Chance,” and “Innocence Lost.” Both of these have really great bass lines, and they sounded so good on the drive. Is there potential for more of them to be included on the list? Yes, but for now, I’m sticking with these two. Kudos to the killer Blitz cover, too. “Someone’s Gonna Die” definitely gets the heart thumping faster. 

Redoubt — “For A Brighter Tomorrow”
Next up was Redoubt. This is a band I was not familiar with, except by name only. I’ve heard good things about them around town for a few years now, and I feel like we might have even talked about playing a show with them back before my old band, The Father Figures, called it a day. Either way, I was excited to check it out, and I needed a little boost.

Rangeley, Maine, to just west of Erie, Pennsylvania, makes for a long day, and it was getting dark as I crossed the border from New York into Pennsylvania. It seemed like a good time to try something new. Redoubt’s latest EP, “For a Brighter Tomorrow,” sounds really good, and the songs attack the ear in a way that I have always appreciated. In fact, I felt like I had heard it before. I think it might be the vocals. They are so familiar.

Sometimes, this sense of familiarity is a bad thing, but Redoubt plays a style of music that I dig, and not a lot of bands do, so it still feels fresh. They are a mix of the heavier side of indie rock with a dash of ‘80s midwestern punk rock, and a sprinkle of ‘70s New York underground rock. I’m hesitant to name specific bands, but I’m guessing the folks in Redoubt have been listening to some of the same records that I like and probably for a long time.

The first two tracks on “For a Brighter Tomorrow” are rockin’, but also not incredibly memorable. Maybe this is why I don’t want to just lump them in with specific references. Both “Left Behind,” which kicks in with a cool intro, and “Undefined” move, though, and again, the mix was excellent. This four-song EP holds up against just about anything I’ve heard recently. 

The song I like the most is “Lost Control.” That one has a really good chance not only of making the Travelling Tunes playlist but also of being one that I get excited about when it comes on. I haven’t added it yet, but the pangs of guilt are strong as I type this. The worst part about falling in love with local bands is that so often, they break your heart. 

What I really need to do is see Redoubt live. 

After resting up on the edge of Ohio and Pennsylvania, it was off in the pissing down rain to Rockford, Illinois. For those who are not into geography, this means skirting the bottom of Lake Erie for a while before crossing through Indiana and the bottom half of Greater Chicagoland. It was one of the two relatively short days on my trip, and the perfect time for Overstand. 

Overstand — “Take Control”
Another of the heavier bands on the edge of the punk rock and East Coast hardcore vibe, Overstand recently released “Take Control.” These dudes bring the power, have killer gang vocal backups, and the rhythm section is one of my favorites in town. Heck, I like everything about these guys and “Take Control” was fun as hell to discover while driving through a soaking wet Indiana. 

Nothing against northern Indiana, but it’s not the most exciting drive in the world. Having songs like “The Pressure” and “The Voiceless” to listen to is an added bonus. There is also a killer breakdown in the first song, “Suffocate,” that really sets the tone and gets me going. 

Since I was white-knuckling it a bit through the truck traffic and pissing down rain, I had to check my aggression level during the 24-minute record. Due to its brevity, I listened to this one twice through as well. I’m not going to say that I loved it both times because I did realize that I was ready for something else about halfway through the second pass. 

This is typical for me with the East Coast hardcore stuff. From where I stand, it is way more fun to play this music than to listen to it. Small doses of this heavy cousin of punk rock are always fun, and that’s why I added one track from Take Control to the Travelling Tunes playlist right away, and that was “Short Fuse State.” It’s quick, hard and packs a punch. 

It was just one song, and it was Iowa, but Tripolar’s “You’re Not Listening” has me totally intrigued. I can’t add it to the travel playlist just yet because, well, see the above comment about local bands breaking your heart, but I want to hear more. They are reportedly releasing another EP soon. 

“You’re Not Listening” was a cool, bratty, romp in the punk rock park kind of thing. I really like how the female vocalist exuded the “I’m in total control” attitude that the song packs like a double-bagged mule for Sister Sarah. If this band has more songs like this one in their back pockets, we’re all going to know who they are in 2026. 

As I sped (not really, I’m a pretty responsible driver) through Nebraska, I realized that I genuinely liked everything I had heard so far. It was refreshing, in a way, but it also occurred to me that I am very stuck in my ways. I could have just made a playlist with all these records on it, but would I ever listen to that playlist again? Probably not. I will, however, listen to the one I made of bands I loved in 1985 over and over and over. 

Old Animals — Self-titled LP
Admittedly, I spent much of the time driving through Colorado listening to an audiobook, so I was in New Mexico when Old Animals’ self-titled debut hit the van speakers. Of everything I’ve heard so far, this is the best record in the bunch. It sounds fucking huge, and when “Blȕd” kicks in, which is the first song, I was in the right place at the right time. Sunset on the west side of Albuquerque is magic time. 

You can put in some serious miles while listening to Old Animals. The eight songs come in at just over 50 minutes, and there is a lot of texture on these sonic walls. Fans of Neurosis, for example, or Mastodon will definitely get down with songs like “Happy Drone” or “Until the Bitter End,” especially the latter for those who like the dark and heavy. As I listen, I can even hear a little Faith No More in there, too, which is not always my favorite thing, but it works here. 

“Old Animals” is definitely not a record that was just slapped together. There is genuine care and artistry at work here. It is apparent these dudes thought long and hard about the kind of band they wanted to be and the type of record they wanted to make. It’s admirable, really, when the reality is such that most bands are searching, it seems, for that one song that will make it big and not a whole record of rippers. 

I’m truly not sure if I could pick a favorite song among the eight tracks. Each song is solid, and there were multiple times where I found myself banging my head to the excellent riffs and playing drums on the steering wheel. The guitars are perfectly crunchy and heavy throughout, but there is one moment on “Underserving Favor” where they lock into a badass groove that shines a little brighter for me. 

That’s the track that made it to the Travelling Tunes playlist right off the bat. “Happy Drone” has a chance, I think, and so does “Until the Bitter End.” “Monument” is pretty badass, too.  

“Old Animals” is definitely a contender for repeated listens, and who knows, it might even be one of those records that becomes something I listen to for years to come. That’s all you can really ask for from new music, isn’t it? We all get stuck in the grooves of the records we love, for the most part, so when something new comes along that you want to listen to more than once, it’s a fucking gift. 

Go see these guys and buy this vinyl as soon as you can. 

Thee MadCaps — “Figure It Out”
Next up was a complete change of pace from longtime local cool kids, Thee MadCaps. Like the Tripolar offering, it’s just one song, but it is something catchy and even a little kooky. “Figure It Out” blends psychedelia and garage rock in a way that makes me think of what might happen if Jay Reatard and Syd Barrett were jamming in the great beyond. Thee MadCaps better be working on a full-length with this current lineup of the band because the combination of sounds they are putting together is just plain special. 

“Figure It Out” went straight to the playlist and left me hoping there was more, as I realized that I was getting pretty close to Black Canyon City. It’s always good to get to the end of a long road. Thanks for keeping me company on this one.