Fake Names Unleash 'Until It's Normal' And Announce New Album

09-01-2026

(Epitaph) Fake Names are back with their third studio album, Punk Ruins, out October 23. Their first new music in three years, today they share the new song / video for "Until It's Normal."

Punk Ruins finds guitarists Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion) and Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, The Faith), vocalist Dennis Lyxzen (Refused, INVSN), bassist Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside), and new drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket From The Crypt, OFF!) effortlessly merging D.C. post-hardcore with modern power-pop.

Recorded at the legendary Electrical Audio studio in Chicago and working with producer Matthew Barnhardy (Superchunk, Bob Mould), Punk Ruins transcends genre as the ultimate amalgam of fury and fun. "We recorded twelve songs in five days, and all of them are on the album," Baker explains, adding that Lyxzen tracked his vocals in a single day. "One of the advantages of us all working at home is there's plenty of time to figure out what you're going to do," Baker says when asked how the band were able to create such a fully formed album in the time some of their other acts have spent solely on pre-production. "I know what the guitar solo is going to be because I've already done it at home and sent it to Michael to tweak it," he adds. "It's not as hard as you think."

"This album is a collective expression and a lot of the fun is seeing how the hell it is going to turn out," Baker shares, adding that the musicianship of the other players helped elevate his and Hampton's initial ideas into something far beyond what they anticipated. Tracks like "Diamond Buzz" provide a hypnotic groove while the title track showcases the band's undeniable D.C. hardcore sound, with Lyxzen belting out his vocals, elevating the song's already razor-sharp hooks.