Arizona hardcore unit Pig City has never operated on a predictable timeline, and guitarist Dylan is quick to point out that their quieter stretches are usually about circumstance, not disinterest. In 2025, with the band split between Portland and Phoenix, Pig City kept activity selective, but far from idle.
“We’ve been relatively quiet because the band is spread between Portland and Phoenix,” Dylan explains, “but we had a great West Coast tour and have finished our third LP, which will be out in 2026.” It will be the follow-up to their self-titled 6-song record from 2013, a gem of unbridled fury and unhinged vocals:
For their next album, Pig City worked with longtime Phoenix engineer Jay Paz and mastering guru Sasha Stroud in Portland, keeping the process rooted in scenes the band actually belongs to.
Stylistically, Dylan doesn’t hedge. “For this record, I pretty much only listened to Scapegoat, early period Nails, and Hatred Surge,” he says, noting that anyone familiar with that era will hear those references immediately.
Lyrically, the new material pushes Pig City into darker territory than ever before. “This might actually be our most depressing and angry offering yet. I know everyone thinks they have to say something like that, but it’s how we feel about the album.”
That intensity is not theoretical. Dylan recalls the band drawing federal attention around 2019, including surveillance of their internal communications. “The FBI definitely knows about the band,” he says, half-laughing but clearly serious. “They were reading our band chat and everything. It was terrifying.” Rather than romanticizing the experience, he frames it plainly as intimidation, something other hardcore bands have dealt with as well.
Looking ahead, Pig City are starting 2026 on unfamiliar ground with their first overseas tour. After connecting with Fuck on the Beach and Fight It Out at a Las Vegas festival, an offer to play Japan quickly turned into reality.
“They said, ‘Hey, come to Japan,’ so we took them up on it,” Dylan says. “We sent a few messages, booked some flights, and it was done.”
The tour will include shows with Negative Sun, Unfair God, Kandarivas, Floaters, and more. For Dylan, it will be his first time touring there. “If you’re in Japan for any of these shows,” he adds, “crush a lemon sour with us.”
A new LP finished, international dates locked, and no signs of softening their message, Pig City continue to function exactly as intended. Loud, confrontational, politically charged, and completely uninterested in being ignored.
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