20 greatest Hopeless Records bands
Now synonymous with sourcing the next generation of punk upstarts and alternative trendsetters, Hopeless Records has remained true to its independent roots from their Van Nuys, California beginnings back in 1993. Founded by Louis Posen after a fateful music video filming with Guttermouth, Hopeless has acquired and raised some of the biggest names in the pop-punk and alternative scenes.
Read more: 20 greatest Fueled By Ramen bands
In celebration of the philanthropic label’s 30th birthday this year, we’ve drawn together the 20 greatest Hopeless signings, both past and present.
Avenged Sevenfold
Try to imagine Avenged Sevenfold without their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet or their seminal sophomore album, Waking the Fallen. Having trouble? That speaks for the impact of A7X’s Hopeless output all the way back in 2001, a much simpler time for the metalcore scene and owners of infinitely baggy jeans. Listeners were introduced to the talents of Synyster Gates and Johnny Christ to the tune of “Unholy Confessions” and “I Won’t See You Tonight,” bracing fans for their now-traditional screaming guitar solos to frame their lyrical bangers. Avenged Sevenfold’s stint under the Hopeless umbrella may have been criminally brief but ultimately gave the promising Cali outfit a chance to make a giant leap into their bright future.
NOAHFINNCE
No offense, but if you’ve not yet discovered the musical wisdom of influencer-turned-pop-punk-upstart NOAHFINNCE, you need to get out more. Multitalented, energetic and mob-handed with a sharp tongue and an ear for a catchy hook, the British rising talent signed to Hopeless Records in 2020 and has since released two EPs charged with quickfire jibes on modern life, love and everything in between. The future of pop punk is safe in the hands of NOAHFINNCE and Hopeless’ eye for the genre’s next landmark artists.
Zeph
Bedroom alt-pop fueled by young adult angst has never sounded quite as bittersweet as it does in the hands of one-woman powerhouse Zephani Jong, or Zeph for short. One of Hopeless’ freshest signings, the Korean-American sensation well known for her hard-hitting lyrics that give listeners pause for thought at every turn joined the label in March and promises a moving new era judging by her latest single “like everyone else.” Listeners can expect a wild ride of emotions that may be uncomfortable to hear but nevertheless deserve a platform, soundtracked by the dulcet tones of Zeph’s vocal range.
Waterparks
In 2019, pop-punk sensations Waterparks sought the perfect outlet for a change of tact, bringing painfully self-aware lyricism to the table amid saccharine, electro-pop-infused singalongs. A simultaneous bold shift from their signature pop-punk jams but also a perfect transition toward their musical maturity as an outfit, Hopeless Records gave their 2019 album, FANDOM, a soapbox to freely express itself. The success of the venture proved that their sound progression was not only predicted but welcomed by listeners who also needed self-critical anthems to belt out in the car on a hot summer’s day. Even though their partnership was short-lived, as they only stuck with Hopeless for one record, Waterparks made their ultimate mission statement loud and clear.
New Found Glory
New Found Glory’s shift to Hopeless in 2014 in time for their eighth studio album, Resurrection, gifted the outfit with a chance to start again. A member reshuffle placed Chad Gilbert on rhythm guitars as well as lead, allowing for a more consistent tone on songs like “Selfless” and “Ready & Willing,” establishing a new status quo that would survive until NFG’s final Hopeless album, December’s Here. The Hopeless era gave the genre mainstays a golden opportunity to prove themselves all over again, and it paid off spectacularly.
Scene Queen
The TikTok generation needed a rebellious icon to call out the scene around them with an acid tongue, but it could never fully prepare itself enough for the storming presence of Scene Queen, the brutally honest outlet for songwriter Hannah Collins. Creating her own genre of self-branded “bimbocore” to explain the juxtaposition between her ultra-feminine aesthetics and relentless metalcore instrumentals, Scene Queen delights in challenging the scene’s deep-rooted issues through contagious heavy singalongs that you’ll hear on your For You Page all day long.
Neck Deep
Some partnerships are meant to be, particularly if they come together to create four phenomenal pop-punk records within a decade and consequently fire a Welsh band from the obscurity of the nonexistent Wrexham punk scene right up into the stratosphere. Neck Deep have enjoyed a fairytale journey through the ranks as payback for their hard work in crafting endlessly contagious summer anthems, standing to this day as a testament to Hopeless Records’ talent-picking flair.
Thrice
The tricky relationship between artist and sophomore record held true for Thrice, having received numerous rejections to release 2002’s The Illusion of Safety due to its unpredictable sound, varying from frenetic melodic hardcore to self-reflective post-hardcore. Luckily for the band, Hopeless imprint Sub City Records took a chance and consequently enabled the now-legendary emo trendsetters to unleash songs like “Deadbolt” upon an unsuspecting world grabbing its skinny jeans and studded belts in preparation for a breakthrough.
Pinkshift
Visceral punk instrumentals and gloriously slick, grunge-esque vocals meet in No Man’s Land at the hands of Pinkshift, Baltimore’s answer to No Doubt with a refreshing 2023 tinge. Scooped up by Hopeless just in time to drop their debut full-length, Love Me Forever, this trio of friends are looking to shake up the scene with teeth-baring, confrontational jams that sound as much fun to create as they are to hear. Pinkshift have their brightest days ahead of them with the continued support of a label synonymous with punk discoveries that push the boundaries of a genre designed for reinvention.
The Used
With their fifth record, Vulnerable, in 2012, emo mainstays the Used began fusing experimental electronic elements into their signature venomous and gloriously heavy anthems as if they always belonged there. Leaving the safety of Reprise Records for a new start with Hopeless, the transition into their newfound approach appeared pretty seamless. For the next three earworm-inducing eras, the band called Hopeless Records their home and produced some of the most emotionally stirring, evocative albums of their long career, from the confrontational Vulnerable and the politically enraged Imaginary Enemy to the grieving The Canyon.
illuminati hotties
illuminati hotties is newer to the Hopeless Records roster. The first release through the label was second studio album, Let Me Do One More, in 2021 which allowed the LA indie set to announce themselves to the mainstream. What started as an outlet for former production-engineer-turned-vocalist Sarah Tudzin’s talents soon became a completely unpredictable combination of punk, indie and whatever Tudzin feels like on any given day. illuminati hotties are a true aural experience that defies a large label name to encapsulate their success, and are still with Hopeless Records now.
DE’WAYNE
In a badass world, alternative music needs an equally badass representative for 2023. Case in point: DE’WAYNE. His slick combination of organized hip-hop chaos and reckless punk abandon has crafted relentlessly contagious singalongs that have earned the Hopeless seal of approval and consequently garnered the hype he fully deserves. Living his best life under the Hopeless umbrella since his debut album, STAINS, DE’WAYNE’s genre-fluid approach brings back echoes of nü metal’s glory days when the two genres coexisted harmoniously across the mainstream market. There is hope that the scene can rejuvenate its relationship with the polar opposite genre, and that hope falls into the hands of one Texas-born future icon.
Stand Atlantic
When you find a label that understands your goals, your journey toward them and how you plan on getting there, hold onto them. Stand Atlantic have settled neatly into the Hopeless family as if they always belonged there, signing for their debut full-length, Skinny Dipping, in 2018 and staying out well into their third album, F.E.A.R., last year. Distributing their own flavor of pop punk with blends of electronic twinkles, their tracks are worthy of endless replays, led by the versatile tones of vocalist Bonnie Fraser. The only way is up for the Sydney crew.
Sum 41
Sum 41’s back catalog may well be the definition of All Killer No Filler, but the latest piece in the Ontario band’s jigsaw was a signing to Hopeless just in time for their 2016 album, 13 Voices. Introducing what was once a daunting step into the unknown for the noughties trendsetters, the crowd-funded effort 13 Voices also paved the way for a subtle fragility in Deryck Whibley’s lyricism to reflect his own health revelations while taking a bold step away from their pop-punk roots toward a heavier metal sound. Ever since, Sum 41 have consistently followed their musical instincts to the bitter end.
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday’s innate reliability to produce an album chock-full of belters, earworms and tracks that arrogantly refuse to age has carried them long into their 25-year career. It comes as no surprise that their debut appearance in the Hopeless family was no different, bringing 2011’s Happiness Is as an opportunity to remind the world around them just why TBS are the alternative household name you can trust. Their second Hopeless outing, 2016’s Tidal Wave, would be founding guitarist Eddie Reyes’ last with the Long Island outfit and subsequently made a fitting end of an era.
PVRIS
PVRIS have shifted to the Cali label in time for their fourth album, EVERGREEN, to be released this July. Dominating the alternative scene since their 2014 debut album, White Noise, demonstrated their heavy chops, their sound has comfortably evolved into a theatrical form of electro-pop rock that fully showcases the complexity and versatility of frontwoman Lynn Gunn as a performer, songwriter and vocalist. The latest singles from EVERGREEN, “ANIMAL” and “GODDESS,” suggest that listeners are in for a wild ride with PVRIS this year.
The Wonder Years
If you thought your favorite pop-punk bands would eventually outgrow their adolescent anxieties and youthful despairs, the Wonder Years have matured and grown into their own sound while still retaining the fist-clenching angst from their debut. Over a decade under the Hopeless umbrella since their third studio album has enabled the Wonder Years to truly explore their own identities both as a group and as individual artists. Signing with the label for 2011’s Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing and remaining with Hopeless ever since, the band have found the perfect outlet for their emotional grievances across five gut-wrenching albums.
Tonight Alive
Despite the musical future of Tonight Alive remaining largely uncertain, their signing to Hopeless for their latest album, Underworld, in 2018 supplied the world with their newfound artistic approach to their traditional alternative-rock sound. Never taking the most obvious path through the industry, the Sydney outfit branched into an empowering new era with the help of Hopeless. Although Underworld would prove to close a chapter of their history with the departure of founding lead guitarist Whak Taahi, and it may seem like this fourth album may be their last, the Australian rockers produced a fittingly beautiful end to a band that brought familial togetherness to every stage they have graced.
Silverstein
Victory Records’ loss is inevitably Hopeless’ gain, and the same goes for Silverstein back in 2011 on the cusp of releasing their fifth post-hardcore triumph, Rescue. It’s impossible to imagine this emo-forging outfit without songs like “Massachusetts” and “Burning Hearts.” Not to mention, the unexpected hit of the entire Short Songs album changed the way we consume the genre’s output altogether. For their dedication to their stylistic endeavors, Silverstein will always deserve to be up there with the emo trinity, as they’re masters of creating devastatingly catchy scream-alongs and heartbreak anthems that hit your feelings like no other.
We Are The In Crowd
Without the resounding success of their partnership with Hopeless Records, it’s hard to imagine if We Are The In Crowd would ever have emerged from their local Poughkeepsie, New York scene, let alone become a huge name in their brief time together. What began as a MySpace post declaring that a former band member had hacked and deleted their page’s contacts and content later forged a bond with the minds behind Hopeless and would lead to releasing both of the outfit’s albums under the label. Although their last release dropped back in 2014 and their 2016 hiatus broke in 2019, the chance of new WATIC music is low but never zero.
