Punk Pioneers Black Eyes Return with Genre-Bending Album Exploring Dub and Jazz Influences

In November 2025, the legendary D.C. punk band Black Eyes made a surprise return with their first new music in over two decades. Their new album, 'Hostile Design', sees the group synthesizing the explosive tension and jazz squawk of their previous work while bringing their love of dub to the forefront.

Born at the start of the century, Black Eyes was known for upending the norms of the punk genre, melding no-wave noise, funk, and obtuse but guttural screeds against the Bush-era America. By the time their second album 'Cough' was released, the band had incorporated a free-jazz influence, with songs that sounded like they were ripping themselves to pieces only to reassemble in new, misshapen ways.

Now, after a 20-year hiatus, Black Eyes has reunited and crafted an album that doesn't simply retread old ground. Instead, they attempt something new, stretching their songs into extended, dub-influenced forms. Tracks like "Under the Waves" ride groovy basslines, while the cavernous closer "TomTom" is haunted by constant Haitian Creole chatter. The band's signature energy remains, as evidenced by the explosive finale of "Break a Leg." Throughout, the lyrics maintain the group's righteous indignation, with Daniel Martin-McCormick's yelps targeting "shitty parents" and other targets of the band's ire.