Pop-punk has definitely seen a resurgence in the last couple of years and one of the potential breakout bands from this latest wave of pop-punk acts is girlfriends, the duo featuring Apple Music 1 and MTV’s Ghosted: Love Gone Missing host Travis Mills and Goldfinger drummer Nick Gross.
The pair have been consistently finding that pop-punk sweet spot with infinitely catchy jams that have made our Staff Picks favorites on multiple occasions. And come tomorrow (June 17), you’ll be able to listen to the highly anticipated new album (e)motion sickness.
Though they may be new to some listeners, both musicians have a solid rooting in pop-punk that’s led them to this point. Mills formed his first band at 15 and was part of the Warped Tour circuit, while Gross has long been behind the kit for Goldfinger, appearing on MTV’s TRL on drums when he was just 17. And it should be noted that Gross’ longtime Goldfinger frontman and Big Noise label co-founder John Feldmann produced the new girlfriends album.
Given their love, passion and history with the pop-punk genre, we reached out to the duo to get some of their picks for the Best New Age Pop-Punk Bangers That Everyone Should Know. And hopefully it won’t be long before girlfriends songs will also be on the tip of everyone’s tongues.
Check out their recently released song “I Thought About You While I Was Taking a Shower” below, and be sure to pick up the album tomorrow. You can order the (e)motion sickness album here and catch them on tour at these stops.
Take a listen to the song, and then check out Travis and Nick’s 10 New Age Pop-Punk Bangers Everyone Should Know below.
girlfriends, “I Thought About You While I Was Taking a Shower”
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“The Curse of Curves”
Cute Is What We Aim For
The lyrics in this song immediately drew me in as a teenager and had me envious of the pen game, and I knew I always wanted to write songs like this. It’s tongue in cheek, it’s brash and clever. And I hope some of this also comes across in the music were making now. – Travis Mills
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“nothing lasts forever”
boxboy
Love this kid from Australia. Everything from his lyrics and his songwriting to the tone of his voice is super unique. Definitely doesn’t sound like a kid from Australia, you’d never know. – Nick Gross
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“The Only Exception”
Paramore
We need more acoustic songs like this in new-age pop punk — songs with huge sing-along choruses and emotion behind lyrics. We tried to do something similar to this song with “High Again” on (e)motion sickness. Nobody to this day has come close to beating Hayley‘s vocal. – Nick Gross
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“Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too”
Say Anything
Max Bemis is one of my favorite songwriters — clever, sophisticated and has a “Bukowski” vibe to his writing. I love the telephone sample in the very beginning and haven’t really heard another pop punk/emo band recreate it in a way like this. I open every Emo Nite set with this song and it goes off. – Travis Mills
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“Mix Tape”
Brand New
This takes me straight back to high school and the trouble with young love. Now we make playlists, but the relevance still holds the same weight. It’s a cathartic song to help you say “Fuck You” to someone who broke your heart. – Travis Mills
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“bad habit (dramatic!)”
poptropicaslutz!
I’ve been streaming some of their music recently and I think the duo concept is unique. You don’t see many groups (other than girlfriends) doing the duo thing. Their music feels raw but authentic, definitely some cool songs coming out from these guys. – Nick Gross
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“Karma”
MOD SUN
The opening track of his album Internet Killed the Rockstar, the chorus feels like a throwback ’90s punk track with that acoustic guitar line. The chanting stripped down chorus is always a fresh taste on keeping the structure of a song different and interesting. Plus, other than “Karma Police,” there haven’t been many great Karma songs! – Nick Gross
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“Dear Maria, Count Me In”
All Time Low
I love the chuggy guitar that starts this one off and the first line “I got your picture, I’m coming with you” immediately draws you in to the rest of the song. It’s been cool to watch the evolution of this band throughout the years and this song still holds up as one of my faves. – Travis Mills
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“Move Along”
All-American Rejects
An all-time classic. We need more pop-punk songs with drum intros. Enough said. – Nick Gross
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“California”
girlfriends
The first song we released, the second song we ever wrote as a band. I feel like it encapsulated the time we spent making the first record and I’ve always wanted a song to honor the place I grew up and the feelings of coming back home. – Travis Mills
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