Category: Punk
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The Dead Milkmen ‘Big Lizard In My Backyard’ (1985)
Punk rock has a long history of sardonic wit and apathetic humor, especially during the mid-80’s after the self-seriousness of the genre which dominated the late 70’s had begun to fall on deaf ears. The Dead Milkmen carved out their own spot in this niche, displaying an affable sense of comedic timing mixed with jangly…
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Hot Water Music ‘Caution’ (2002)
It’s hard to fully explain how much I respect the hell out of Hot Water Music. This is a band that formed in 1994 and is still at it today with the majority of band members pushing 50 years old. That’s a hard task to do in the music business, let alone one as unrelentingly…
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The Matches ‘E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals’ (2004)
There was a point in high school where The Matches were my favorite band in the world, hard stop, no doubt about it. I loved the fact that they were a local band (they hailed from Oakland, CA), I loved the fact that their live show was absolutely electric (I had the chance to catch…
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All Time Low ‘Wake Up, Sunshine’ (2020)
Veteran pop punkers All Time Low returned to their roots on 2020’s Wake Up, Sunshine and in the process scored the biggest chart-topping song of their career with “Monsters”. Despite the fact the band has been around since the early aughts and been a mainstay in the pop punk scene for over 20 years (which…
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Title Fight ‘Shed’ (2011)
Released 8 years after their official formation, Title Fight’s debut album Shed takes all the things that made the early aughts a haven for post-hardcore bands and cranks them up to 11. Featuring heavy electric guitars that delight in dissonance, gravelly lead vocals that sit buried in the mix, and a heavy rhythm section that…
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Wire ‘Pink Flag’ (1977)
Wire’s Pink Flag is best summarized as an impressionist version of punk rock, tiny vignettes of emotional outbursts captured and distorted through the lens of a group of artists unconcerned with conventional song structures. Since its release Pink Wire has gone on to influence a myriad of art rock punk bands in the years that…
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Wipers ‘Is This Real?’ (1980)
When Wipers lead singer Greg Sage was a child he grew fascinated with cutting records on his own. Since his father worked in the broadcast industry he had access to a lathe, and spent his evenings bootlegging songs off the radio and converting those to records for his friends at school. This passion pre-dated his…
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Flogging Molly ‘Drunken Lullabies’ (2002)
It was St. Patrick’s Day yesterday so naturally I took some of my old punk classics out for a spin– Dropkick Murphys, The Pogues, and as you probably guessed, Flogging Molly and their 2002 album Drunken Lullabies. My daughter has really been getting into themed music as of late (if she’s wearing a tie-dyed shirt…
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Saves The Day ‘Through Being Cool’ (1998)
Through Being Cool is a nostalgic reminder of simpler times. I first got into this album in middle school and re-listening to it again at the age of 36 with two young kids running around the house represented just how fast life can change and how far it can take you on this wild journey.…
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Goldfinger ‘Never Look Back’ (2020)
Many will remember Goldfinger for their prominence during the late 90’s with their hits such as “Superman” and “99 Red Balloons” (you’re lying if you claim ignorance of these two songs) as well as their brand of kitschy third-wave-ska meets punk rock. In the years following lead singer and songwriter John Feldmann has made quite…
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Joy Division ‘Unknown Pleasures’ (1979)
Unknown Pleasures is the debut album from English post-punk band Joy Division. Despite not receiving any commercial success during its initial release (no singles were promoted during its release which was absolutely a rarity in the late 70’s) it has received significant critical acclaim in recent years due to its deployment of uncommon recording techniques…
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Screeching Weasel ‘My Brain Hurts’ (1991)
Screeching Weasel is one of those bands that is your favorite band’s favorite band. A long-time fixture in the skate punk scene, Screeching Weasel has been cited as a significant influence by a metric load of bands that I grew up on– luminaries such as Blink-182, Green Day, New Found Glory, MxPx, Fall Out Boy,…
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The Story So Far ‘Proper Dose’ (2018)
Walnut Creek’s The Story So Far has been a part of the new wave of pop punk bands for going on about a decade now, bringing an emotive and earnest approach to songwriting that pays homage the foundations of the pop punk genre while updating that sound for a new generation of listeners. What sets…
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Kindergarten Cartel ‘Kindergarten Cartel’ (2024)
About a year ago I was driving in the car with my two-year old daughter and newborn son, listening to PinkFong’s rendition of “Baby Shark” for what felt like (and was certainly most likely) the 23rd time in a row, and thought to myself “there has to be a better way.” For a young father…
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Meet Me @ The Altar ‘Past // Present // Future’ (2023)
Along with having perhaps some of the most impressive uses of typographical symbols in both their band name and album title (the dual solidus in the Past // Present // Future is a chef’s kiss, frankly) Meet Me @ The Altar turns in a refreshing rendition of 2023 pop punk throughout their debut album. All…
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Green Day ‘Nimrod’ (1997)
While not as artistically impactful as their pop-punk powerhouse 1994 album Dookie, or as critically lauded as their commercial smash-hit American Idiot in 2004, Green Day’s 1997 album Nimrod is a seminal album that would have a massive impact on the punk rock genre as a whole and frankly could be considered a magnum opus…
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Alkaline Trio ‘From Here to Infirmary’ (2001)
Alkaline Trio has always held a special place in my heart for one simple reason– their obsession with the macabre. Combining relatively simple and straight forward skate punk chord progressions with references to corpses, rotten milk, scars, chainsaws, and alcohol (yes, lots and lots of alcohol) has always been a recipe for success for primary…
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Bad Religion ‘Christmas Songs’ (2013)
Earlier this year I spoke about the impact Bad Religion had on the punk rock music I grew up on in my write-up on their 1988 album Suffer. A brief refresher in case you missed it: It’s hard to overstate just how influential Bad Religion was on the punk rock I grew up on during…
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Neck Deep ‘Life’s Not Out To Get You’ (2015)
Neck Deep’s 2015 sophomore album absolutely bucked the trend of the sophomore slump, delivering some of the best pop punk of the 2010’s which is saying something considering how much the genre had seen a resurgence in popularity that decade. Life’s Not Out To Get You sounds incredible– Lloyd Roberts’ and Matt West’s guitars are…
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Minor Threat ‘First Two Seven Inches’ (1981)
Despite playing together for a mere three years Minor Threat’s influence on the American hardcore punk scene is indisputable. They were the harbingers of the DIY aesthetic (eschewing corporate influence to do everything from music production to concert promotion themselves), were fiercely unapologetic in their straight edge ideals (avoiding illicit drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex),…
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Stiff Little Fingers ‘Inflammable Material’ (1979)
Born in the late 70’s in Belfast, Ireland in the midst of “The Troubles”, a period of time where ethno-nationalist conflicts and police brutality dominated the lush Irish scenery, Stiff Little Fingers were basically thrown into a living situation that was perfect for their fast and aggressive punk rock to flourish. Capturing the mayhem and…
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The Aquabats! ‘The Fury of the Aquabats!’ (1997)
Adorned with matching costumes and masks, The Aquabats 30-year career has taken them on a long ride from their ska punk roots to a more current iteration that features more of a New Wave feel. Along the way their brand of comedy rock and tongue-in-cheek humor has made them somewhat of a cult classic underground…
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Blink-182 ‘One More Time…’ (2023)
Yesterday Blink-182 released One More Time…, their first album with Tom Delonge since 2011’s Neighborhoods, closing a 12-year hiatus that saw the band go through a rather tumultuous breakup that roiled through the music industry. The personal challenges between Delonge and bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker have been well chronicled, but effectively the…
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Minutemen ‘Double Nickels on the Dime’ (1984)
Double Nickels on the Dime is a massive album comprised of 45 songs. Yes, you read that correctly. And as you’d expect with such a prolific output it covers a wide range of influences from hardcore punk to jazz to funk. The best way I can describe them to people unfamiliar with their material is…
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Circle Jerks ‘Group Sex’ (1980)
If you’re looking for nuance or subtlety you’ve arrived at the wrong album. Circle Jerks 1980 cut Group Sex is a landmark album in the American hardcore punk scene for a variety of reasons— its anti-establishment screeds, double-time blitzkrieg, and nearly unintelligible perspective on life. But mostly Group Sex is known for its impressively succinct…
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Bad Religion ‘Suffer’ (1988)
It’s hard to overstate just how influential Bad Religion was on the punk rock I grew up on during the mid-2000’s. Bands like NOFX, Pennywise, Green Day, The Offspring, Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio, and Rancid all owe a debt of significant gratitude to the forebears of that distinct sound for a handful of reasons,…
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No Use For A Name ‘Hard Rock Bottom’ (2002)
During 8th grade I was just beginning to get into punk music. Bands like The Ataris, NOFX, MxPx, Blink-182, Green Day, and Pennywise were my gateway into the genre. Listening to those bands today has a way of transporting me back almost immediately– and while some albums have aged well (and others not so well)…
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Millencolin ‘Pennybridge Pioneers’ (2000)
If you played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater as a kid it’s an absolute guarantee that you’ll recognize the first song off Pennybridge Pioneers. That game was a defining part of my childhood and many of my generational peers, and “No Cigar” was a mainstay on the game’s soundtrack. It’s a perfectly put together skate punk…
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Anti-Flag ‘For Blood and Empire’ (2006)
Anti-Flag has enjoyed a 35-year extensive career in the punk rock scene, dedicating their music to activism and left-wing politics since forming in Pittsburgh during 1988. If their name didn’t give it away already, their songs are focused on political discourse and the horrors of war, governmental overreach, corporate greed, and animal cruelty (all members…
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Pennywise ‘Land of the Free?’ (2001)
As a middle schooler Pennywise was one of my first forays into politically oriented punk rock, with Land of the Free? being one of the most prominent albums in my rotation. I spun this specific CD too many times to count on my blue Walkman, and later in high school actually covered “Fuck Authority” with…
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Tiger Army ‘Music From Regions Beyond’ (2007)
Produced by the late great Jerry Finn (whose contributions to late 90’s / early 00’s punk rock were unparalleled, as we covered relatively extensively in our writeup of Blink 182’s Enema of the State), Music From Regions Beyond is an album that draws significant inspiration from horror punk and goth rock. A great reference album…
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MxPx ‘Life In General’ (1995)
At one point in my life during middle school MxPx was my favorite band. The lyrics filled with young teen angst, straightforward vocal melodies, fuzzy electric guitars, and snap crackle drums sounded absolutely perfect to my 12-year old ears. They were also one of the rare punk bands approved by my mom to listen to…
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Dead Kennedys ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ (1980)
Known for their brutal and sardonic political commentary, Dead Kennedys were a prominent figure in the early wave of punk that rose to prominence in the early 80’s. Their satirical take on everything from political figures, the punk movement itself, and the banality of American consumerism was controversial at the time and led to a…
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Less Than Jake ‘Hello Rockview’ (1998)
When we listened to Mighty Mighty Bosstones seminal 1997 album Let’s Face It earlier this year I described ska as “the genre of music that’s playing on a loop in a toddler’s head”, which still stands as one of my favorite genre descriptions that I’ve made on this site since I embarked seven months ago…
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The Wonder Years ‘The Greatest Generation’ (2013)
Pop punk has been having a moment in the past few years, experiencing a resurgence since it lorded over the pop music culture in the early 2000’s. And Pennsylvania’s The Wonder Years, who have been carrying the torch since the late aughts, are a huge part of that resurgence. It’s sort of funny to think…
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Blink-182 ‘Enema of the State’ (1999)
If you were in middle/high school during the early aughts it was basically impossible to avoid Blink-182. They were the most influential pop punk band in history at a time when pop punk was absolutely everywhere, looked the part with the spiked blond hair and Venice Beach skater garb, and possessed a real talent for…
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