Diyno Mixtape: the best of February 2025 releases – our suggestions
February 2025 releases selected for our monthly column Diyno Mixtape
Also in this month of February we discovered and listened to a lot of stuff, selecting for you the releases you find in Diyno Mixtape. As always ample space for different subgenres and bands from various countries around the world. Happy listening!
NB: The list is in alphabetical order by band/author and is not a chart.
Be curious and if you have advice or opinions to give us on February releases, feel free to contact us on our social media or via email!
If you’re interested in the physical copy of any of these albums you can write to info@radiopunk.it. Some are in our catalog, some could be available on demand.
Folk Punk
Union Thugs – Coup de Grisou (Dure Réalité)
Music by the people, for the people. The goal of this Quebec sextet, a militant working-class collective before being a band, is to bring punk into folk and folk into punk, initially with reinterpretations of traditional songs, as on the 2020 album “Folklore ouvrier.” This new EP, however, contains three original songs sung in French with the power and working-class topics of oi! and the dragging rhythms of folk music, in which electric guitar and drums coexist excellently with accordion. Don’t miss it while waiting for the full-length due in the fall!
Ska Punk
Bite me Bambi – Eat This (DIY | 12” LP)
If you feel the need for a strong dose of self-confidence and a big, liberating “f*ck you” to dedicate to those who judge, hate, or trap us in toxic relationships, this is the album for you. And if you love ska-punk, you’ll be amazed to know that this is the first full length by the California band, because you feel like you’ve known them for a while and may already know how to sing along to some of the songs, which have been released as singles in the past few months, and dance to them inspired by the amusing videos. Tahlena Chikami is a hurricane of energy, and her powerful voice moves perfectly at ease over ska-punk that is tinged from time to time with pop, funky or rockabilly overtones. The album also includes a version of “Want You Bad” by the Offspring. Delightful!
The Pomps – Partial Eclipse of The Pomps (Bad Time Records | 12” LP)
Crisp new release from Badtime Records, sure to satisfy the most refined palates. In fact, the Boston quartet churns out 10 tracks that are most striking for the measured dosage of ingredients. Well-known elements such as 2 tone ska, post punk and 80s style new wave are balanced and blended to perfection to create a sound with an original and current flavor that could be called new tone, or post ska. And if you add the vocal timbre you expect for that sound, super catchy melodies, delightful guitar solos and the witty irony of the social and political issue lyrics, you have served up an irresistible recipe to be enjoyed to your heart’s content. Over the top!
Post punk
Möney – Hegemony (Chicken Attack Records)
“Hegemony” is the sixth Ep (yes, you got it right, the sixth) by the Bristol-based band. A sequence of songs that is weird to say the least, as foreshadowed by the cover characterized by acid green and fuchsia colors. Musically we are faced with anarcho punk influenced post punk, with its reverberating vocals and guitar. The whole thing is flavored with “spacey” sounds that seem to come straight from a rickety alien spaceship from a 70s movie. Fancy and peculiar!
Hardcore punk
Anedonia – Il tempo di un albero (Diy)
Anedonia from cold northern Italy come out in February with this 7-track ep that they call “emo crust.” Emo emerges overbearingly through melodic riffs and arpeggios, but this is joined by the power of Italian hardcore and anarcho punk with fast drums and screaming vocals on the microphone. The same mix is present in the topics ranging from introspective to political. You will definitely like them if you love bands like Minoranza di Uno, LeTormenta, L’Ordegno and Contrasto. A wonderful discovery, leaving you with a bittersweet feeling of anger and melancholy.
Slon – Doppelganger (STTW Records | 12” LP)
After a few demos and tapes, here comes the first full-length by the German quartet from Koblenz, Mannheim and Offenbach. A barrage of hardcore punk ready to make our ears bleed with an explosive mix of speed, feedback, edgy guitars and heartbreaking screaming vocals. Simple and conceptual artwork embellishes these 10 tracks sung in English. Album as noisy as it is extraordinary!
Camellia Sinensis – Tout Prendre (Une Vie Pour Rien | 7”)
Looking up info on this band, the first thing I discover is that Camellia Sinensis is the tea plant. And it immediately strikes me as an apt name, since the band is energetic to say the least, and indeed the theine is an excitant. The second thing I notice is that the Lille lineup that has members from Traitre, Kronstadt, Année Zéro, Gutter, Chiaroscuro, Alarm had already appeared on these pages a year ago when we talked about France. Enough of anecdotes! We said, a year later, we pleasantly return to talk about them thanks to this 5-track EP of unprecedented nastiness and violence. The melodic part, little and well balanced, rests on a vigorous singing in French, a wild rhythmic base and killer guitar riffs, straight to the point. Simply fabulous EP!
Punter – Australienation (Televised Suicide Records, Drunken Sailor, Green Noise, Sorry State | 12” LP)
Already from the first notes I cried out for a miracle! Great performance by the Australian band that from the artwork to the sounds, from the musical proposal to the lyrics does everything right in this great 13-track album. In this cauldron that makes up “Australienation” we find hardcore punk, rock n roll, Dead Kennedys-esque early punk and unfailing echoes of Australian legends Radio Birdman. But the most striking thing is the devastating shot and the originality with which these various influences are mixed creating an album that is already a serious candidate for album of the year. Masterpiece!
Benefit Compilation
Under The Blade of A Zionist Nightmare Vol. II (Plastic Wound, Sound Of Chaos, Punk Against Apartheid, EastRev, A World Divided)
Volume 2 of the benefit compilation “Under The Blade of A Zionist Nightmare” is out, which will give all proceeds to Gaza Sunbirds. You can download the 30 songs at any Bandcamp of the labels mentioned above. Further info here. Enjoy listening, donating and let’s keep talking about it because the genocide is still going on! Free Palestine!
Anarcho-punk
Phantasm / Vampire – Split (Televised Suicide | 7″)
Split between Australian bands devoted to a scratchy, acid and lysergic anarcho-punk characterized by edgy sounds. A one-minute intro gets us into this distorted, tribal mood, where we immediately notice a contrast between the sharp combo of vocals and guitar and the dark rumble of bass and drums. The two bands intersect perfectly, creating a continuum and resulting in an EP that stylistically harkens back to the 1980s but in a fresh and original way. Watch the video below and crank up the volume, it’s a crazy trip!
oi!
Empire Down / Bullshit Detector – The Spirit Lost Split (31Records | 7″)
Sumptuous split between Empire Down from Minnesota and Bullshit Detector from Texas. We start with the melodic, dark and gothic side of Empire Down that blends oi!, hardcore and post-punk elements, especially in the sound and riffs of some guitar parts. On the B side, on the other hand, we find Bullshit Detector with their more assertive and solid sound that definitely veers to more oi! shores while still maintaining the right amount of melody and this post-punk allure that rages throughout the split. Excellent work!
Lion’s Law – Evermore (HFMN, Une Vie Pour Rien, The Firm Records, Barroom Heroes Shop, Pirates Press Records, Cargo Records | 12” LP)
New album by the Parisian band that has just completed a frenzied European tour together with Mess and Claimed Choice. From the very first lines we understand that the recipe is the one to which the quintet has well accustomed us, with an oi! filled with singalongs mixed with hardcore punk riffs and a really perfect sound production. In every song there is that solemn air, that right compromise between melody and power that makes the band one of the most appreciated in the oi!/hardcore circuit. Lion’s Law again give a great performance on this album and these 15 tracks flow by like a pleasure, with some really phenomenal high spots like “Paris,” “Sewer Rats,” and “Crucified.” Amazing album!
Punk rock
Corbillard – Amour, Délice & Morgue (Guerilla Asso, Bearded Punk Records, AEM Project, Panda Records | CD/12” LP)
An ode to death, a hymn to life. The Belgian band, already active for 15 years, calls its music “punk rock from beyond the grave,” and, beginning with its name (French for “hearse”), makes decadent imagery its trademark. Yet, this constant winking at death overflows with a love of life, of the hope of dancing on the ashes of the world, if we know how to multiply despite their attempts to divide us, if we know how to fight for our rights, the right to live, and the right to die with dignity. The lyrics, accompanied by a booklet of illustrations, one for each of the 13 tracks, are pure poetry. And the music, refined but punchy punk rock in perfect Guerilla Asso style, delivers moments of high emotional impact. Masterpiece!
Bruc – Poc Més Que Un Nen
Outstanding start for this new band from Barcelona! The debut EP, for the time being available only in digital format, contains 6 tracks of explosive punk rock sung in Catalan and played with energy and passion. The lyrics talk about war, frustration, alienation, but also about the desire for uprising and the saving power of music. Not to be missed!
Crust punk
Hellknife – Flames of Damnation (Phobia Records | 12” LP)
6 years after their debut album “Dusk of Doom” the German band from Mannheim returns with its proven formula of crust punk infused with a good dose of metal and blast beats. 10 tracks that combine full-bodied guitar riffs, furious d-beat rides and a screaming, mighty vocal performance to perfection. If you like Wolfbrigade you will love this record!