Best New Punk Band

Scaling the walls of Atlanta’s punk, hardcore, and DIY scenes, the paranoid chant that everyone is talking about this year is courtesy of Harmacy. Part noise rock, punk, and post-punk, the rising foursome unleashed a demo this summer that burst through genre barriers with a huge, chest-filling sound and wiry melodies. On stage, vocalist Brandon Reid tops off every shows with a visceral, brooding performance, sermonizing his lack of satisfaction with the state of the world, and forever pushing the music forward.

(Photo by Onyee Nwazue)

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Even in the bleak, death-afflicted world of Atlanta punk in 2016, MUTUAL JERK’s eponymous demo cassette stands out as an original. The Atlanta quartet celebrates the darkest aspects of modern punk — minimal structures, razor-sharp guitar fuzz, and lo-fi tape hiss — with a skewed fusion of gothic and amateurish punk melodies. The group’s got a warped vibe — all of the musicians are learning their way around new instruments as they go. Guitarist Bobby Michaud (Uniform) and drummer Rob Sarabia (Rapturous Grief, Strategic Warheads) hadn’t played their respective instruments live before Mutual Jerk’s 2015 debut. It’s also bass player Sam Camirand and singer Tyler Roberts’ first band since settling into Atlanta’s punk scene. Songs such as “4 Door Sedan” and “Midtown Set” build around Roberts’ off-center singing style. His vocal delivery takes shape like short stories. Each word is fueled by genuine emotion, a welcome departure from the macho bravado that often dominates abrasive punk music. Mutual Jerk’s demo tape has made the rounds over the last year, earning the group credibility. Roberts’ on-a-dime transformation from an amicable introvert off stage to a bounding frontman on stage makes for a hell of a fun show. www.mutualjerk.bandcamp.com/releases. less...

RALPH’s buzz-bomb guitars and screaming tornado-punk whir sound more like gems plucked from the grooves of a Killed by Death ’80s punk compilation than anything recorded in recent years. The foursome of (barely) twentysomethings explodes with the kind of reeling spastic energy that couldn’t be channeled into anything but punk rock. Of all the bands in Atlanta, Ralph keeps the lifeblood flowing through the post-Rob’s House Records scene, and they do so without aping anyone’s style. It’s punk in its raw, Reagan-era form (Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, the Germs), meaning the band exists in a state of primordial three-chord bliss. The old-school punk ethos is all about capturing something special before it goes bust; the kids in Ralph are definitely reveling in that moment. www.myspace.com/imgonnaralph less...