New Forms tease new sonic directions while keeping their eyes on the skramz frenzy prize throughout Nothing Is Sacred Anymore.
Release date: July 24, 2026 | Iodine Recordings | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Two things became very apparent to any discerning screamo fan this summer: the new wave of screamo is here to stay, and Iodine Recordings is doing everything it can to keep it that way. As evidenced by new releases from scene legends The Saddest Landscape, or more underground acts like Quiet Fear, the Bostonian (Bostonite?) record label is not afraid to incorporate items from the more volatile end of the punk spectrum alongside its roster of indie rock and post-hardcore bands; a clear indication of screamo’s popularity these days. The latest feather added to Iodine’s skramz cap is the new EP from fellow Bostonite (Bostonian?) crew New Forms, the oh-so-very 2026 titled Nothing Is Sacred Anymore.
Now, New Forms have been around for a minute; the band has roots that trace back to bands like Youth Funeral and Alessa, and this new EP is their first for Iodine Recordings, but third release to date, following their first LP from 2023, As Dust Collects. And just as the label putting this out marks the bigger footprint they’ve developed in the global hardcore scene, so does the sound of Nothing Is Sacred Anymore reflect the maturity of both the band and the current wave of screamo bands having their moment in the sun.
Sticking to the same studio (God City Studio) and recording engineer (Zach Weeks) as on their last release, New Forms still managed to nail down a much beefier sound, putting them closer sonically to recent releases from Frail Body, Senza, and Blind Girls. The upgraded sound is a lot more metal-leaning, in tone if not in substance, and it really helps balance the different musical directions they’re trying their hands in here. Plus it certainly adds a punch to the more aggressive turns this EP takes during its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it runtime.
Clocking in at just around 6 minutes, this release wastes no time in establishing what New Forms sounds like in 2026: less chaotic, heavier, but with a lot more space in its sound for mellow, introspective elements and detours. Opening track “I’m Sorry I Left” quickly blasts into a pummeling, beefy melee of flailing drums, mazy guitar runs, and agonized vocals, but it’s all over before you know it, and the slumping, ephemeral notes of “Loss of Integration” play out like shimmering sun rays piercing through storm clouds.
We’re then treated (and I mean TREATED) to “Woolgathering”, the EP’s centerpiece, and, to these ears, the best song New Forms have ever written. It picks back up from where the first track left off, but being the longest track here (it’s just 1:58 minutes, don’t worry), it has time to build some momentum and eventually lead to an absolutely world-crushing, thigh-slapping, head-snapping monster of a breakdown, with a massive riff that will be stuck in your head for days on end. This is a song countless bands spend their entire lives hoping to write, and I really hope we get more songs like this from New Forms in the future.
In a move that further cements the quiet parts as being just as integral to New Forms sound as the aggressive ones, the rest of the EP keeps the same pattern, with the following song being a subdued, sparkly strummed melody, before album closer “Threadbare” rocks our world again. The song does a great job of building tension and stringing together one strong section after another, but it lacks the nasty bite of “Woolgathering”, and as a closing statement, it leaves me wanting more – and not in a good way, sadly. But in all fairness, if you have a song like “Woolgathering” on your EP, every other song would have a hard time holding up.
Now, would I recommend this EP as the first touch point for folks who aren’t familiar with this band’s music? Probably not. The two introspective tracks feel more like filler than full-on songs, and the other three songs are somewhere between good to great, but hint more at a band still working out the kinks of its new musical direction. If you’re new to New Forms, check out As Dust Collects first. But for any returning fans, this EP is a sweet little treat, and a nice holdover until we get a new full-length. There’s a lot of sonic room for the band to grow into, and even if they end up changing course again, we got “Woolgathering”, and that is more than worth the price of admission.
