I know exactly what you’re thinking: ‘Dom, what in the *blue hell* is Deftonescore supposed to be?’ Well, I could say something pretentious and esoteric, or I could simply say it like it is – Deftonescore is basically the place in the Venn diagram where alt-metal and nu-gaze overlap, which is in turn populated by bands that sound at least vaguely like Deftones circa White Pony and onwards. Got it? Cool. Moving on.
It’s not like the Deftonescore denominator we’re working with today is a catch-all for bands that all sound the exact same. There are enough parts of the sound to deconstruct, zoom in on, and put into focus, and some of the bands I’ll point out below even went and brought in entirely new flavors to throw into the mix. So expect a healthy dose of variety amongst the familiar tropes you’ll be able to identify across this article.
We’ve seen multiple waves of shoe-/nu-gaze come and go since the mid-2010s, with the emergence of new, exciting talent and the return of beloved figures that spearheaded the whole shebang back in the ‘90s. Nostalgia tends to run deep, and sometimes it skips a generation before coming back with a vengeance. To see this guitar-forward, heavy iteration of the shoegaze continuum make its glorious return only makes sense when viewed through this lense; after all, White Pony is now as removed from us as 1990 was from the original ‘gaze revamp. Do you feel old yet?
All that being said, the summer of 2025 will undoubtedly be etched into the annals of history as the summer of Deftonescore. Un-doubt-ed-ly. 100%. The signs are all there, and you can’t deny the influx of adjacent bands and records this year. This could be the moment where I break out the tin foil hat and Charlie Kelly pinboard, trying to find a deeper connection between the acts, albums, and general socio-political climate that bred this return of an early ‘00s aesthetic, but that’d be a) pointless and b) entirely too much work, so I’ll stick to the most important part: showing you the bands and records that made this summer the summer of Deftonescore.
Have I said Deftonescore often enough?
Bleed – Bleed || May 2, 20 Buck Spin
Of all the places to start, this is by far the funniest, because who would’ve thought 20 Buck Spin of all labels would release an album like this? Downtuned guitars, nu-metal riffs, gaze-y ambiance, and… is that a DJ scratching? Bleed brought the early aughts back in style with an undeniable record that left a mark on our listening habits this summer.
Thornhill – BODIES || April 4, UNFD
Split Chain – motionblur || July 11, Epitaph
motionblur is a bit more rough around the edges, a bit more aggressive and self-deprecating than most of the albums you’ll find on this list, but that’s exactly why it stands out so beautifully. Split Chain made an instant splash with their grunge- and emo-leaning sound. Releasing this via Epitaph is definitely a minor curveball, but that only goes to show how diverse the audience for this sound has become!
SOM – Let The Light In || March 14, Pelagic Records
SOM have been reliable distributors of shoegaze-inspired post-metal for a while now, and this year they contribute a beautiful new record to the wave of Deftonescore releases. Let The Light In couldn’t have been titled more appropriately – it’s the feeling of a warming ray of sunshine hitting your face put into crushing music!
La Lune – everything is an eternal circle and it repeats and repeats itself || May 8, Play Dead Records
Grunge and Hum have found their way into the fray with La Lune, whose everything is an eternal circle and it repeats and repeats itself carries a whole lot of grit and attitude in its tones and structures. Definitely one of the less polished albums on here, but that’s hardly a bad thing. Extra points for naming a song “raaaawr XD”.
en masse – newviolenttrends. || June 20, Fever Ltd.
Love Is Noise – To Live In A Different Way || February 14, Century Media
Chain – No Spirit || March 14, Independent
Paleskin – Euphoric End || June 13, Out Of Line Music
thistle. – it’s nice to see you, stranger || July 4, Venn Records
Pushing the same ‘dreamo’ narrative as Split Chain, thistle. nonetheless combine the emotional turmoil and heft of punk-leaning alt-metal with the reassuring shimmer of shoegaze, and to great effect. I imagine this would do wonders played on an old tape deck during the twilight hours of the day.
Denisa – St. Bernadette || June 24, Deathwish Inc.
This one-woman project from Jakarta, Indonesia bridges the gap between atmospherically inclined singer-songwriters like Emma Ruth Rundle and the guitar-heavy nu-gaze of Deftones-affiliated bands. Technically, this is just a re-issue of her 2023 St. Bernadette album via Deathwish, but fuck it – this is simply too good to let go!
sace6 – Limerence || June 6, Version III
Glare – Sunset Funeral || April 4, Deathwish Inc.
BADVRIL – In Heaven || March 14, Independent
This list is by no means exhaustive, mind you; I’m sure some splendid releases managed to evade my consciousness in my quest to put all the Deftonescore that came out in 2025 thus far into one place. But that’s bound to happen when you try to make an article like this. And the year is far from over: aside from the above, we’re also expecting to get new music from bands like Fleshwater, who will continue the summer of Deftonescore well into early September with the release of 2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky.
‘Dom, stop trying to make Deftonescore a thing! It will never be a thing!’, I hear you yelling. But you’ll see. You will all see. The summer of Deftonescore will never die!
