Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is out now, and with it comes a wave of early 2000s nostalgia. Developer Iron Galaxy’s pseudo-remake perfectly recaptures the joys of grinding around airports while peppering in some new skateparks of its own. More crucially, it brings back some of the greatest punk rock bangers to ever grace a video game soundtrack. Classic songs from Adolescents and CKY return for the remake, but the soundtrack is much more robust than that. In fact, the bulk of the songs featured are entirely new additions, bringing in everything from modern hip-hop artists to gloriously sloppy punk bands.
While that may disappoint some purists, the new music is the highlight of the package. It contains a bounty of killer tracks that fit right in alongside Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades.” From my early hours spent skating around in search of secret tapes, I’ve found a music discovery tool that’s far more effective than Spotify. There’s value in a heavily curated playlist built around a specific vibe rather than the loose recommendations of an algorithm. It feels like listening to a mixtape hand-made by Tony Hawk himself.
With so many new artists featured, the idea of finding your new favorite musician in that playlist may feel a little daunting. So, in the spirit of curation, allow me to sort through the record crate and hand you a few gems. These are some of my own favorite artists featured in the game who really capture the spirit of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and the skate culture that birthed it. If you dig the songs included in the soundtrack, consider checking out their albums — and preferably in a way that will actually pay out for them.
Recommended album: Hellmode
Even before the remake was announced, I dreamed of the day when Jeff Rosenstock would be featured in a Tony Hawk game. The cult icon has been a staple of the New York punk scene ever since his days in The Arrogant Sons of Bitches and Bomb the Music Industry. He’s since spun that into a successful solo career that’s earned him a loyal fanbase. I saw him perform at a residency in Brooklyn a few months back and the guy ripped through a 36-song setlist where he played through an entire album, front to back, and stopped to cover a bunch of Neil Young songs with Laura Stevenson (who just released her terrific new album, Late Great). Rosenstock’s excellent “Head,” a blitz of a punk song, is featured in THPS 3 + 4. If you dig it, there’s plenty more where that came from.
Recommended album: Summertime ‘06
The Tony Hawk games aren’t just about celebrating skate culture, but also California, where Tony Hawk made a name for himself. The Pro Skater’s series’ soundtracks have long paid tributed to bands from cities like Los Angeles, and THPS 3 + 4 very much continues that run. Not only that, but it makes an active effort to represent more genres of music, including hip-hop. As a result, Long Beach rapper Vince Staples gets a well-earned spot on the soundtrack with his 2015 single Norf Norf. It’s a great choice too, as it’s the breakout song that helped springboard the rapper to what’s since been a consistent career. While he’s put out several albums since then, his debut Summertime ‘06 remains a fantastic starting point if you’re looking to dig in.
Few musicians are as unmistakable as Danny Brown. Even if you don’t know his name, you’ll instantly be able to identify him by his untraditional voice. Even before finding mainstream success with albums like XXX and Old, the Detroit rapper was making a name for himself as a gust on tracks by the likes of El-P, and Ab-Soul. He’s since gone from a prolific feature artist to the main attraction, getting more experimental with each new release. That came to a head in 2023 with Scaring the Hoes, his excellent collaboration with JPEGMafia. You might want to work your way up to that one, so I’d recommend getting your feet wet with the critically acclaimed Old first.
Recommended album: Romance
There are plenty of rising artists on the soundtrack, but Fontaines D.C. are currently on the most meteoric run of the bunch. The Irish rock outfit has been impressing critics since 2019 with albums like Dogrel, where THPS 3 + 4 highlight Boys in the Better Land comes from. They took off like a rocket last year with the release of Romance, their biggest commercial success to date. You may, in fact, already be familiar with their music. Their hit “Starburster” soundtracked Borderlands 4’s debut trailer at last year’s Game Awards, and is also the title credit song for Paramount Plus show Mobland. Don’t be surprised if you see them popping up in more video games soon.
Recommended album: King of the Beach
THPS 3 + 4 is a great early 2000s time capsule, but it also takes me back to 2008. That was right smack dab in the era of “blog rock” bands, as music outlets like Pitchfork were creating careers for acts like Tapes ‘n Tapes and Vampire Weekend. One of my favorite bands to come out of that era was Wavves, a San Diego project from songwriter Nathan Williams. The band’s debut, King of the Beach, is peak blog rock. It’s an energetic little debut headlined by the killer surf title track now featured in THPS 3 + 4. While that album is still arguably their best, Wavves has kept kicking since. Their latest album, Spun, just released in late June and it’s still as peppy as ever.
Recommended album: Germfree Adolescents
While I love that THPS 3 + 4 includes so many newer artists, it’s important to pay respects to the classics too. That’s why I’m so happy to see X-Ray Spex in the mix with the furious “Identity.” The short-lived British punk band was the brainchild of singer Poly Styrene, an artist who went on to influence the ‘90s riot grrrl movement in America. If you’ve never heard them before, you owe it to yourself to check out Germfree Adolescents, the band’s only album during its original run (they would briefly reunite in 1995 for a final album). It’s a foundational punk record full of shrieking guitar riffs that paved the way for plenty of bands that would go on to become Pro Skater staples.
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