New Years Day

New Years Day crafts an extravagant blend of energetic pop-punk and theatrical, goth-inflected arena rock, channeling the shadowy theatricality associated with acts such as Evanescence, Garbage, Alkaline Trio, and Motionless in White. The group originated in 2005 after bassist and chief songwriter Adam Lohrbach departed the veteran first-wave pop-punk outfit Home Grown to establish his own project. With vocalist Ashley Costello (commonly credited simply as Ash), guitarist and keyboardist Keith Drover, guitarist Mike Schoolden, and drummer Russell Dixon on board, the band began performing in local venues while cultivating an online following through MySpace and similar platforms.

In early 2006 the quartet secured a deal with TVT Records following brief discussions with Decaydance, the Fueled by Ramen vanity imprint founded by Pete Wentz. Later that fall they issued a self-titled five-track EP whose infectious lead single “I Was Right” attracted modest MTV attention. Their first full-length effort, My Dear, arrived in spring 2007 and contained a track co-authored with Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack.

TVT ceased operations in 2008, prompting Lohrbach and Schoolden to exit. The remaining members shared fresh recordings via social networks in 2009 and joined the Warped Tour lineup in 2010. The next year they aligned with Hollywood Waste Records and unveiled the EP The Mechanical Heart. Their second studio album, Victim to Villain, finally surfaced in summer 2013 on Century Media Records while the group performed on that season’s Warped Tour. Bassist Tyler Burgess and drummer Nick Rossi came aboard in 2014; the EP Epidemic followed later that year and registered on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart.

Maintaining their dramatic brand of pop-punk, the configuration of Costello, Burgess, Rossi, and guitarist Nikki Misery appeared on another Warped Tour and issued the 2015 LP Malevolence, which preceded the band’s inaugural headlining trek. By the release of the 2018 EP Diary of a Creep, Costello had assembled an entirely fresh roster. The quartet returned in 2019 with its fourth album, Unbreakable, which featured the single “Come for Me.” In early 2020, marking a decade together, New Years Day issued the limited-edition box set Through the Years, comprising vinyl editions of all seven prior albums and EPs, a Blu-ray anthology of their videos, and a photo book chronicling the band’s history.

After a five-year absence, New Years Day resurfaced in 2024 when Costello rejoined original members Brandon Wolfe, Jeremy Valentyne, and Trixx Daniel. On their fifth album, Half Black Heart, also released in 2024, the group drew renewed inspiration from its origins while advancing its sonic direction.