#NewMusicFriday: November 21st 2025

Although Christmas is fast approaching, there is still the small matter of #NewMusicFriday releases at hand. For some, the return of Aerosmith is sure to spike some interest. Their first new material in over a decade, ‘One More Time,’ is a collaborative EP with Grammy-nominated rockers Yungblud.

Spanish Love Songs make a fleeting return in the form of ‘A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time’. The four-track EP features cameos from The Wonder Years, Tigers Jaw, Kevin Devine, and Illuminati Hotties. With each track being “an imperfect snapshot of a moment,” it allows the quartet to demonstrate their thoughtful songwriting in a bite-sized and cohesive manner. While each guest feels intentional.

When it comes to reissues, The Smashing Pumpkins have delved into their archive to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’. Whereas Twin Atlantic will be reissuing both 2014’s ‘Great Divide’ and ‘Vivarium’.

On The Rise: Seven Blood, SUDS, The Pretty Wild, Knives, Civil Service, and Dropper

If you’re looking for emerging talent, you can take your pick from Seven Blood, SUDS, The Pretty Wild, Knives, Civil Service, and Dropper.

German newcomers Seven Blood make a strong first impression with ‘Life Is Just A Phase’. Comfortably sitting in the space between melodic rock, alt-metal, and metalcore, it’s a cathartic collection that equally produces anthemic hooks, as much as it does dramatic flair and emotion.

For SUDS, their second album, ‘Tell me about your day again’, sees the Norwich quartet deliver a set of bright indie-punk with plenty of emotional depth. Its 11 tracks highlight their melodic charm and pair it with lyrical sincerity, balancing diaristic tales with a relatable narrative.

Self-professed “baddiecore” sibling duo The Pretty Wild leave their mark on ‘zero.point.genesis’. Jyl and Jules Wylde’s brand of goth-tinged, genre-sprawling modern metalcore proves to be a whirlwind listen. With an underpinned theatrical feel, the Wylde sisters have a swagger about them. Tracks such as ‘Living Ded,’ ‘Omens’ and ‘Infrared’ showcase their pop-metal capabilities. While ‘Priestess’ is venomous in its execution.

Bristolian noise collective Knives rework a selection from this year’s debut album, ‘GLITTER’, with the first of a two-EP set titled ‘REGLITTER‘. Part One consists of a mix of reimagined and unreleased cuts. Among them is the dizzying rush of ‘SUGAR’, which features Carson Pace from Knives‘ upcoming tour mates, The Callous Daoboys. Whereas ‘The Dagger’ sees Death Goals add an experimental layer.

For Manchester-based instrumentalists, Civil Service, ‘DARK ///’ narratively follows up last year’s ‘‘/// LIGHT’. While the latter looked for purpose, its sequel casts a shadow of bleak inevitability. While their post-rock foundations remain throughout, tracks such as ‘URBNDCY,’ ‘The Heurist,’ and ‘Turn Out The Light’ prove to be expansive and muscular. It allows the quartet, along with several guest spots (Overheard The Albatross, Hidden Mothers, Blackshape), to create a compelling and textured record that neatly plays into its intended narrative.

Dropper are a band that hails from Aotearoa, Wellington in New Zealand. Their debut album, ‘Be a Little Kinder,’ is charged by the emotional songwriting of Jude Savage. Completed by Walter Martin (drums), Carlos Bellamy (guitar), and Toby Gracewood-Easther (bass), Dropper find a comfortable balance of writing anthemic rock songs with an intimate mindset. It results in a record that tonally leans into emo- and alt-rock influences, providing the young band a solid foundation moving forward.

Elsewhere, you can find:

• Steel City icons Def Leppard return home as ‘Diamond Star Heroes’ captures their 2023 show at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane.
• Rave punk noisemaker Cody Frost returns with her ‘MECHAEVAL’.
• German metalcore outfit, Annisokay, deliver ‘Abyss – The Final Chapter’. It sees them compile Part I and II together alongside with a handful of new songs in one collection.
• Indie pop-rockers Bears In Trees and returning pop-punk veterans HIt The Lights release new EPs with ‘Success Is Unlikely’ and ‘Tomorrow’s Gonna Hurt’ respectivly.

What is out on #NewMusicFriday?

Albums

Rock / Alternative Rock / Hard Rock

Aerosmith & Yungblud – One More Time
Def Leppard – Diamond Star Heroes – Live From Sheffield
Seven Blood – Life Is Just A Phase
Danko Jones – Leo Rising
Beast Eagle – Sorceress
The Birch – Vicious Minds
Floral Image – Deeper Down Meadowland
Suncraft – Welcome to the Coven

Alternative / Indie

Cody Frost – MECHAEVAL
Civil Service – DARK ///
Glitterer – erer
Pavey Ark – More Time, More Speed
The Brokedowns – Let’s Tip the Landlord

Emo / Pop-Punk / Pop-Rock / Punk / Post-Punk

SUDS – Tell me about your day again
The Smith Street Band – Once I Was Wild
Brutalligators – Still Here
Dropper – Be a Little Kinder
Bicycle Inn – Long in the Tooth
Muhnday – Before We Met

Metalcore

Annisokay – Abyss – The Final Chapter
The Pretty Wild – zero.point.genesis
ExitWounds – An Offering To Tragedy
Deficit – Deathstyle
Take Breath Fable
The Algorithm – Recursive Infinity

Hardcore

Born From Pain – Siege Mentality

Metal

Knives – REGLITTER I
Rot Fester – Death Row

Progressive

Spock’s Beard – The Archaeoptimist

Death Metal / Deathcore

Monachopsis – The Carcass Choir
Nøkk – Heartless
Depravity – Bestial Possession
Deadlocked US – Bitter Murmur

EPs

Spanish Love Songs – A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time
Bears In Trees – Success Is Unlikely
Hit The Lights – Tomorrow’s Gonna Hurt
Young Culture – All Weapons Formed Against Me Have Prospered
Great Panic Roger – Anger Box
Rune – Depth Perception
Gloombound – Dreaming Delusion

Reissues and Compilations

Twin Atlantic – Great Divide (10th anniversary edition)
Twin Atlantic – Vivarium (vinyl only)
The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (30th Anniversary Edition)
Between The Buried and Me – The Blue Nowhere (Deluxe Edition)

If you think I’ve missed something or have a new album/EP/song to tell us about, tell us about it here.

Follow the #NewMusicFriday playlist on Apple Music

If you’re looking for the latest tracks focusing on rock, punk, hardcore, metal, emo, and everything in between, then check out our ‘Newish Music’ playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.