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Egg punk (originally known as Devo-core) is an Internet-based microgenre of punk rock that emerged during the 2010s. The genre is characterized by a lo-fi recording style and satirical tone, influenced by new wave band Devo.
Pitchfork described the genre as "subversive", "experimental", and typified by "wry lyrics and cheapo keyboards". John Robb wrote that the subgenre consisted of "lo-fi perfectly ‘badly’ recorded fast punk rock songs", featuring "garage melody with jitterbug jittery guitars and even sometimes cheapo synths" and oriented towards "cocking a snoop at punk’s sometimes seriousity instead embracing introvert nerds, alien noise fiends and manic goofy behaviour".
The microgenre encompasses a range of punk rock bands active in the early 2010s in the Midwestern United States, with central figures such as the Indiana band The Coneheads, founded in 2013 and led by Mark Winter, and St. Louis band Lumpy and the Dumpers, whose frontman, Martin Meyer, would distribute similar cassette recordings under the label Lumpy Records. Other Midwest bands adopting this approach included Uranium Club in Minneapolis and Warm Bodies in Kansas City. The satirical tone and style of these bands have been characterized as a response to the traditional "chain punk" bands in the local scene that were viewed by some as taking their music and message too seriously.
The increased visibility of the egg punk scene was attributed to the distribution of rips of cassette tapes to YouTube by mononymous user Jimmy. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further facilitated the spread of egg punk, as musicians had more time and fewer resources to create music, leading to greater openness to a DIY approach. Egg punk has extended outside the Midwest to several regions, including the Australian punk scene, which involves bands such as Ausmuteants, R.M.F.C., Gee Tee, Billiam and The Split Bills, Checkpoint, and Tee Vee Repairmann. Other notable artists labelled as egg punk include Snõõper, Prison Affair, Powerplant, C.C.T.V. and Landline.
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