Show Me the Body have made their bones as one of modern punk's most singular forces. The New York trio, fronted by banjo-wielding singer Julian Cashwan Pratt, have reconfigured the boundaries between hardcore, noise-rock, hip-hop and more, and their latest album, Trouble the Water (out October 28th via Loma Vista Recordings) features their boldest leaps into the liminal space between the aforementioned underground sounds.
Outside of their own music, the members of SMTB are music lovers with a particular fondness for obscure punk and rock musicians who are operating outside of commonly-treaded genre conventions. Their upcoming tour with Jesus Piece, Scowl, Zulu and Trippjones — three different types of hardcore bands and an experimental rapper — typifies their wide-ranging tastes.
In honor of their new record, we had Pratt select five artists who he believes are the future of hardcore punk, "whether you like it or not," he clarifies. The sounds are all over the map, from dancey no-wave to basement hardcore, and he even included a couple acts from Show Me the Body's label collective, Corpus.
"Hardcore punk has become very boring in my opinion," Pratt says. "I have always been under the impression that hardcore punk is an American folk music. Whether you think it originated in New York, D.C., Oxnard, or Detroit we can all agree it is from this wasteland. Like other forms of American folk-art, there are standards and tropes that define it.
"My goal is to add to this lineage. My goal is to avoid repetition. I see nothing special or beautiful about re-creation and reenactment. If we made a band that sounded like Crown of Thorns, or Skarhead, or Irate, we would be taking our OGs' money. We wish to add to this lineage and offer something new for the next generation of hardcore, just as our OGs offered us a path. This is a list of individuals who I think walk the same path."
Posterboy 2000
Posterboy is a kid from a neighborhood where new kids are moving to and turning into a transplant playground. He started out making Breakdown covers and other classic hardcore covers and doing them on a Game Boy, though he has now upgraded to a Nintendo Switch. He has told me numerous times he "only likes some Show Me the Body songs," as he is a punk purist. Corpus is putting out his new record that was tracked and mixed by [Show Me the Body bassist] Harlan Steed.
Regional Justice Center
Regional Justice Center Is what I like to call "museum core." That shit is so forward-thinking. It contains tropes of hardcore while having zero allegiance to any specific subgenre. It is dedicated to fucking slapping. Side note: Ian's other band Militarie Gun are also real fucking good and are the best listener-friendly punk rock getting made right now.
Shawty
Shawty are made up of a bunch of homies we grew up with, but more than that, they are a new breed of hardcore [for the] New York sound. Where many hardcore bands have taken from hip-hop cadences and rhythm, Shawty take their cadence from drill. Singer Nobel Spell, the corpus enforcer, is also an alchemist, an incredible frontman and our brother.
Special Interest
Special Interest are one of the illest bands playing right now, in my opinion. They're fully shoving punk rock into the future. If Crass formed in 2022 they would sound like Special Interest. If you dislike this band, you are a damn herb.
Symbiote
Symbiote are Atlanta hardcore. Though they are definitely more straight-ahead sounding, they represent what a hardcore band should be. They are in multiple bands, they support other bands and they support their community and take it very seriously. They are dedicated, not only to hardcore, but to Atlanta. They have a new record that will drop on Corpus next year.
