Play girlfriends
When you think about the new wave of pop-punk in 2025, one name keeps showing up everywhere: girlfriends.
And honestly? It makes sense.
At a time where nostalgia is dominating music culture, girlfriends managed to do something a lot of artists fail at: revive the feeling of early 2000s pop-punk without sounding like a copy of it. Their music carries all the chaos, angst, and adrenaline that made the genre explode in the first place, but through a modern lens that feels emotionally more self-aware, and way more internet-era.
The Los Angeles duo is formed by Travis Mills on vocals and guitar and Nick Gross on drums, two artists who already had long careers in music before girlfriends even existed.
Some people knew Travis from his rap and alternative solo career under T. Mills, while others discovered him through his Apple Music podcast and his constant presence in the alternative scene throughout the 2010s. Nick, meanwhile, had built a reputation as both a drummer and songwriter, collaborating with artists and bands across rock and pop circles for years.
But girlfriends wasn’t born as a side project. It was born from frustration.
By the late 2010s, pop-punk had slowly disappeared from mainstream conversations. The genre that once dominated Tumblr dashboards, Warped Tour lineups, and teenage bedrooms had been pushed aside by minimal pop production and streaming-friendly aesthetics. And then came girlfriends.
The band officially formed in 2019, with Travis and Nick wanting to bring back the energy they grew up loving, but without simply recreating the past. girlfriends leaned into imperfections: loud guitars, emotionally messy lyrics, chaotic energy, and hooks designed to stay stuck in your head for days. Their first release, “California” in June 2020, immediately introduced that identity to the world.
The track felt like summer, heartbreak, and recklessness all at once. It had the kind of explosive chorus that practically begs to be screamed inside a car at 2am, while still carrying enough vulnerability to make it emotionally hit. And people noticed.
At a moment when pop-punk was quietly finding its way back into the mainstream through artists like mgk and YUNGBLUD, girlfriends arrived at exactly the right cultural moment.
Unlike some of the revival acts relying heavily on nostalgia, girlfriends always felt more emotionally grounded. Their music wasn’t trying to cosplay 2005. It sounded like what growing up after 2005 actually feels like.
Only a few months after “California,” the duo released their self-titled debut album, girlfriends (2020). Tracks across the album explored relationships, loneliness, self-destruction, and the weird emotional numbness that comes with modern life, all while sounding incredibly fun to scream along to live. That contrast became part of what makes girlfriends work so well.
One thing that separates girlfriends from many artists associated with the genre revival is that they never fully box themselves into one sound. Yes, there’s clear pop-punk DNA there. But you can also hear elements of alternative rock, modern pop production, emo influences, and even indie textures depending on the song.
That flexibility became even more obvious on their second album, (e)motion sickness (2022). Compared to the debut, the record felt more introspective and emotionally heavy.
Themes like anxiety, burnout, identity struggles, and unstable relationships run through the album constantly, showing a version of girlfriends that felt more mature without losing the energy that made people fall in love with them in the first place. It’s the kind of album that understands something very specific about growing up online: sometimes everything is ironic until suddenly it isn’t anymore.
By the time there goes the neighbourhood arrived in 2025, girlfriends had fully stepped into their identity.
The album feels bigger, sharper, and more confident, both sonically and visually. Lyrically, it continues exploring anxiety, heartbreak, and emotional instability, but with more nuance and self-awareness than before. There’s still chaos there, but now it feels intentional.
The production also pushes further beyond traditional pop-punk structures, incorporating cleaner melodies and modern alternative influences without losing the rawness that defines the band. And honestly, that evolution feels important.
Part of why girlfriends resonates so strongly with their audience is their visual identity. Everything around the band feels stripped-down, effortless, and real.
Their visuals often lean into grainy photography, flash-heavy aesthetics, backstage chaos, blurry moments, and the kind of imperfect imagery that feels almost anti-polished in today’s hyper-curated social media world. Nothing about girlfriends feels manufactured.
And that authenticity translates directly into their live performances too. Their concerts carry the exact same energy as their music: chaotic, emotional, sweaty, loud, and deeply cathartic.
With a growing international audience, stronger live shows every tour, and a sound that keeps evolving without losing its identity, girlfriends are very clearly stepping into their biggest era yet. Now we just need that international tour announcement asap.
Follow girlfriends on Instagram.
