Obviously, monthly listeners on a single streaming platform aren’t the whole picture. For these five bands, that’s certainly the case. Even with their hard work, they have fewer than 1,000 listeners on Spotify. That said, streaming numbers don’t tell their full story. These emerging artists are on the cutting edge of shoegaze, garage rock, and old-school punk from Berlin to Sydney to Seattle. If you like what you hear, consider purchasing an album, EP, or even a single on Bandcamp. Don’t say we didn’t tell you first.
Therapy Horse
Hailing from Cork, Ireland, Therapy Horse is a trio creating an innovative blend of no-wave-noise-gaze-post-punk. Describing themselves as making “very scary” noise rock, they fall under the newly emerging umbrella of “quiet-loud-scary” bands, influenced by artists like Wednesday and Mogwai. Their first single, “Let Me Be Clear,” dropped in August 2025, and they have since released two more. Most recently, that was “Sister to None” on March 18, 2026. At just 210 monthly listeners on Spotify, this trio deserves way more attention for their eerie, whispery, yet cathartic and explosive work.
Lunch
Lunch is a London punk four-piece that expertly pushes the boundaries of what punk can do. With loud, clear guitar and classic sing-shouting vocals, Lunch is the perfect band for listeners who crave an old-school sound with modern innovations. The band describes its sound as a mix of post-punk, 2000s indie rock, and 90s alt-rock, which, when combined, is Party Punk. It’s a spot-on name for what they do, with witty, observational lyrics and effortlessly theatrical instrumentals. In July 2025, they released the EP Open Wide, a five-track offering of Party Punk that deserves to have more than 151 monthly Spotify listeners.
Hate Knife
Hate Knife is a Seattle-based punk band with a lyrical style similar to Lunch’s, but this group’s sound goes way back — think Ramones-level old-school, but defiantly contemporary. The guitar work is remarkable on tracks like “2025”, the opener of their debut self-titled album released in November 2025. Describing themselves as “by degenerates for degenerates,” Hate Knife is like a blast from the past of early punk rock. But they’re humorous, irreverent, raunchy, and can probably start a circle pit at a moment’s notice. At 64 monthly Spotify listeners, this is a heartfelt plea to listen to Hate Knife if you know what’s good for you.
Sick Fizz
Sick Fizz hails from Sydney, Australia, playing fast-paced boogie punk rock with Rat Fink-style visuals that’ll blow your brains clean out of your skull, in a good way. They describe themselves as “high functioning low brow rock and roll” and are “only interested in you having a good time.” And that’s exactly what you’re going to get with Sick Fizz. They’re loud, raucous, explosive, and every other word for a banger of a time. Their latest album, Takin’ Care of Fizzness, dropped in July 2025, falling under the delightful umbrella of punk bands that title their albums with puns on their names. They only have 117 monthly Spotify listeners, so if you’re into energetic junkshop garage punk with classic hot rod imagery, Sick Fizz is waiting.
Mercedes & Marxx
Mercedes & Marxx is a Berlin-based Latin American rock band that formed out of a casual jam in 2021. This is a band with passion and an innovative vision, driven by shared culture and creative interests. Their sound is a blend of shoegaze, post-punk, and their unique Northern European/South American perspective. The cross-section of Argentine-Chilean roots with influences from living in Berlin makes Mercedes & Marxx into more of an experience than just a band. Spanish lyrics backed by Northern European shoegaze doesn’t seem like something that would naturally evolve, but this band delivers exactly what I didn’t know I needed. They have 154 monthly Spotify listeners at the moment, but with a new single, “INSANE”, released on March 3, that number needs to go up.
Photo by Naki Kouyioumtzis/Redferns
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