TOP8 New Jersey Local Bands You Need to Know Right Now: With sunnyboyy.

The New Jersey music scene has always punched above its weight; a good portion of our fave artists come from the area, so we decided we wanted to dive deeper into the local scene. We linked up with Patrick from TOP8 Scene favorite sunnyboyy to give us a hand and put us onto some NJ local band recs. Straight from inside the circle, let’s get into it with his picks, highlighting some of the best New Jersey local bands in punk, hardcore, emo, and alt rock making noise this year.

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Top8 Local Recs:

New Jersey has a long and storied history in punk, hardcore, emo, and alt-rock. There is currently no shortage of unbelievable bands coming out of the underground right now.

 

1. Buffout 

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   2. Do you like Title Fight? Well, Buffout does too. Not only that, but they bring so much energy to every show they play and every song they write. They released a promo earlier this year on RTF Records.

2. Lazlo

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   2. We self-released a split EP with Lazlo earlier this year. When I first heard them, I thought their songs were just so honest. Singing about the monotony of life and giving these catchy tracks a bit of an edge makes them stand out from the rest

3. In Blue

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   2. In Blue just flat out fucking rocks. Huge drums, huge riffs, huge vocals, all of their songs will have you banging your head into a neck brace the next time you see them. They take elements of alt-rock, nu metal (trust me), and shoegaze and make it something completely their own. They dropped a really standout track, Jagged Line, in 2024.

4. Manik

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   2. Manik is a brand new, straight-up hardcore band whose members are all NJHC vets. It’s dark, it’s fast, and it’s pissed. They just released their debut single To Kill a Deadman and will be releasing their debut EP via Takedown Records + RTF Records 

5. XL Bully

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   2. I met the boys in XL Bully back around 2011 when I was in a band called 96, and they were in a band called Wastelands. We played so many shows together (mostly very lightly attended, to put it nicely), and since then, they haven't stopped. Hardcore/Punk/Oi for working-class people, they released the Enclosure 25 EP in early 2025 on RTF Records

6. Aiden Jack Finnecy

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   2. A singer-songwriter I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a stage with a few times. Aiden writes really earnest songs about the tumultuousness that is our 20s. The songs are incredibly relatable, and I think Aiden is in for a bright future

7. Negative Force

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   2. An absolute no frills NJHC band. NF is the type of hardcore band that you would like if you enjoy being in fight or flight mode for an entire 20-minute set. They remind me of the bands that would play an old venue called Bloomfield Ave Cafe in Montclair, NJ, and the pit was just filled with linebacker-sized people letting out ALL their demons.

8. Duel

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   2. Short, fast, and GROOVES is my favorite kind of hardcore, and Duel has got all of it. Duel opened up our split record release show after a band had to drop off last minute, and they just set the mood right for the rest of the show. 

9. Honorable Mentions

Any bands on Takedown Records or RTF Records

Best labels in New Jersey right now, hands down.

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