Knuckle Puck
Aggressive, hook-heavy pop punk with an emo heart. Gritty guitars and dual vocals that capture the messy transition from suburban youth to adulthood.
Aggressive, hook-heavy pop punk with an emo heart. Gritty guitars and dual vocals that capture the messy transition from suburban youth to adulthood.
Knuckle Puck sounds like the exact moment frustration turns into momentum. It is a wall of sound built from overdriven guitars and drums that hit with the precision of a heavyweight boxer. While they share the DNA of early 2000s pop punk, their sound is significantly more muscular and textured, trading simple power chords for intricate, interlocking melodic leads that weave through the chaos.
What sets them apart is the vocal interplay and the sheer emotional weight of their delivery. They avoid the 'whiny' tropes of the genre in favor of a raw, shouted intensity that feels earned rather than performed. There is a specific tension in their music between the bright, major-key melodies and the darker, more introspective lyrical themes of self-sabotage and the search for identity.
For the uninitiated, start with their debut full-length, Copacetic. It is the definitive document of the mid-2010s pop punk revival, balancing high-energy anthems with slower, contemplative tracks that show off their range. It’s music for people who want their hooks to come with a side of genuine catharsis.
Knuckle Puck is an American rock band, formed in 2010 in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The band's name comes from the "knucklepuck" shot in ice hockey, which was popularized by the 1994 film D2: The Mighty Ducks. The group has released several EPs, one of which, While I Stay Secluded (2014), peaked at number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. The same year, they also released a split EP with UK band, Neck Deep. Knuckle Puck signed to Rise in 2014 and released their debut album, Copacetic, through the label in 2015. From there, they'd release their second studio album, Shapeshifter (2017), and their third, 20/20 (2020). In 2022 they signed to Pure Noise Records and dropped their lead single "Groundhog Day." This would be the first song released off their fourth studio album, Losing What We Love (2023).
Shares studio polished, layered dense, dynamic range (production style); emo, post-hardcore (subgenres)
Shares emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore (subgenres); studio polished, layered dense, dynamic range (production style)
Shares emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore (subgenres); intense, raspy, harmonized (vocal style)
Shares emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore (subgenres); intense, raspy, harmonized (vocal style)
Shares emo, alternative rock (subgenres); basement show, road trip, festival (atmosphere)
Shares emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore (subgenres); intense, raspy, harmonized (vocal style)
Shares emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore (subgenres); studio polished, layered dense, dynamic range (production style)
Shares studio polished, layered dense, dynamic range (production style); emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore (subgenres)
Shares emo, alternative rock (subgenres); defiant, bittersweet, restless (moods)
Shares emo, post-hardcore, electric guitar, dynamic range (subgenre)
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