If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Greg Norton Minneapolis punk supergroup Ultrabomb (consisting of Husker Du's Greg Norton, Derek O'Brien of Social Distortion and Agent Orange, and Soul Asylum's Ryan Smith) has a new decidedly non-punk single out. "Look Forward in Anger" fits more into the subgenres of power pop and bubblegrunge. More than their previous bands, it's reminding me of a harder edged Big Star. It's filled with catchy harmonies and giant guitars, and sounds more like the 1970's than the 2020's. It's unbelievably bouncy, and comes across more upbeat than the subject matter. Of course, we could always use some positivity in 2026, so maybe the latest from UltraBomb is exactly the kind of punk we need right now. Greg Norton (bass and vocals) says of his band's latest single: “‘Look Forward In Anger’ is a commentary on how partisan politics push to divide us, when we should all be coming together. Love over BS, any day.” You can listen to "Look Forward ...

Photo by Greg Norton Minneapolis punk supergroup Ultrabomb (Greg Norton of Husker Du, Derek O'Brien of Social Distortion and Agent Orange, and Ryan Smith of Soul Asylum) has a new single out. "Checked Out" is a classic meets modern punk song that is as catchy as it is blistering. It's the kind of song that sounds exactly like what you want and expect a song from this trio to sound like. It's noisy and melodic punk that hearkens back to the classic days of the genre without being a complete throwback. A band with the pedigree of Ultrabomb could easily coast on name recognition, but "Checked Out" shows that they certainly aren't (not that we thought they would!) Bassist/vocalist Greg Norton says of his band's latest single: “Checked Out was inspired by life on the road, but there are many things we check out of. Sometimes in life you just need to move on.” You can listen to "Checked Out" below. The Bridges That We Burn is due out April 3 ...

Photo by Greg Norton Ultrabomb, aka the supergroup consisting of Greg Norton (Husker Du), Derek O'Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents), and Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum), have a new single out. "Artificial Stars" is a fantastic punk rock song that delves into power pop. It's catchy and simply irresistible of a song. It may not quite have the some dissonance or noise of the trio's other bands, but it still packs a killer punch and it makes up for it with catchiness. If you even slightly enjoy any of the members' previous bands, you're going to love this one. Even after releasing two great albums since 2022, Ultrabomb are one of the most slept on and underrated bands out there today. "Artificial Stars" are a perfect jumping on point if you're just discovering them now. Greg Norton says of the band's latest single: “Sitting in our bunkers, we only have artificial stars to look at. We are all scarred, but we keep reaching for those...