Tag: Punk Rock
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Basement ‘Colourmeinkindness’ (2012)
One of my favorite moments each week is my Saturday morning run. It’s a time for self reflection and “me” time after a hectic week of work and family, alongside a much-needed shot of exercise-induced adrenaline. It’s also a really great time for me to listen to some new music. Today’s album was Basement’s Colourmeinkindness,…
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The Suicide Machines ‘Destruction By Definition’ (1996)
Today we have somewhat of a deep cut with The Suicide Machines 1996 debut album Destruction by Definition, one of those mid-90’s records that perfectly nails the mix of piss and vinegar punk rock and sing-a-long hooks. It’s a damn hard line to walk consistently but this album has always stood out to me as…
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Voodoo Glow Skulls ‘Firme’ (1995)
Voodoo Glow Skulls mix the high energy of punk rock with the bounce and brass of ska, creating a sound that’s fast, loud, and full of attitude. Their music leans hard on driving guitar riffs, tight horn lines, and rapid-fire vocals, all coming together with the rawness that mid-90’s punk rock ska is known for.…
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The Runaways ‘The Runaways’ (1976)
The Runaways’ 1976 self-titled debut was loud, raw, and about as unapologetic as a record could get at the time. Formed by a group of teenage girls who barely had their driver’s licenses, the band—featuring future rock icons like Joan Jett and Lita Ford—was put together under the guidance of manager Kim Fowley who saw…
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Charmer ‘Downpour’ (2025)
It’s relatively rare nowadays that I listen to an album from a band that is 1) Completely brand new to me 2) Was found organically and not recommended by a friend 3) Impresses me so much that I listen to it for a week plus before writing an article about it. Charmer’s Downpour is the…
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MC5 ‘Kick Out The Jams’ (1969)
Released in 1969 Kick Out the Jams by MC5 is one of the most controversial debut albums in rock history, and one of the rare cases where a band introduced itself to the world with a debut album that was also a live record. Captured at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom the album distills the chaos, energy,…
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Propagandhi ‘How To Clean Everything’ (1993)
How to Clean Everything introduced Propagandhi as one of the sharpest and most self-aware voices in the early wave of skate punk. The band was signed to Fat Mike’s record label Fat Wreck Chords after playing a show with NOFX in the early 90’s. As dutiful readers know, that record label would soon define the…
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The Story So Far ‘I Want To Disappear In The USA’ (2025)
Along with having a great band name (seriously what a great goddamn band name) The Story So Far is one of my favorite pop punk bands operating today. So when I saw that they’d be on tour with fellow modern pop punk titan Neck Deep and a hotshot upstart Origami Angel I was pretty excited.…
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MxPx ‘Pokinatcha’ (1994)
I’ll be seeing MxPx live in a few months alongside The Ataris, which is basically gonna be me living out my 13-year old self’s dream show at the age of 38 years old. I’ve talked about my love for MxPx a few times in past (especially my personal history with their 1995 album Life In…
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Scream ‘Still Screaming’ (1983)
Scream’s debut album Still Screaming cemented their place as one of the most vital voices in the D.C. hardcore punk scene alongside legends like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and Government Issue. The 80’s were a time when the city was becoming a hotbed for raw, politically charged music. Known for their blend of speed, aggression,…
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+44 ‘When Your Heart Stops Beating’ (2006)
After the highly publicized breakup of Blink-182 in 2005 Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker found themselves navigating both personal and creative fallout from their strained relationship with guitarist Tom DeLonge. While DeLonge went on to form Angels & Airwaves, Hoppus and Barker decided to channel their energy into a new project that retained the urgency…
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Useless ID ‘Redemption’ (2003)
Useless ID caught my eye last week when I was reading up on some lore about The Ataris in preparation to see them live alongside MxPx in a few months (I’m pumped!). I was kind of going down the rabbit hole of albums that lead singer Kris Roe produced over the years and read a…
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Between You & Me ‘Armageddon’ (2021)
I don’t need to describe my love for pop punk (the last 2 1/2 years of writing about music has made that clear) and I’m always in the mood for hearing some new bands in the scene. Between You & Me heralds from Australia and their 2021 album Armageddon channels the raw energy of early…
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Big D and the Kids Table ‘Good Luck’ (1999)
There was a record label in my hometown of Cupertino, CA called Springman Records that for the longest time was one my favorite record labels ever. There’s a few reasons for that– I was in middle school when I was first getting into punk rock, and Springman Records was a punk label so the synergy…
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KNIVES FL ‘One Cut Away From Love’ (2024)
Every once in awhile (or if we’re being honest, a lot of while) I’ll get served ads on Instagram for young up-and-coming bands. The vast majority of these are in the pop punk vein. At any rate KNIVES FL was one of those bands who got delivered into my algorithm and I enjoyed this album.…
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Sincere Engineer ‘Cheap Grills’ (2023)
Sincere Engineer has that sharp Chicago punk rock sound down pat, complete with brilliantly depressed storytelling that sprints through tales of heartbreak and shoddy self-repair. Frontwoman Deanna Belos’ earnest vocal approach makes her sound like she’s right at the top of her range on every song. And she filters her diary-like lyrics through punchy, hook-laden…
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Bowling for Soup ‘Drunk Enough To Dance’ (2002)
Bowling for Soup carved out a pretty cool niche as a band who could make comedy rock songs that had element of truth to them. There was their iconic “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” single off this album that made them super popular and regaled a story that pretty much every dorky high schooler…
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Rancid ‘Rancid’ (1993)
Rancid is one of the best piss-and-vinegar pure punk rock bands still operating out there today, which is pretty incredible considering it has been over 30 years since their debut LP from 1993. I’ve waxed poetic about the band’s 1995 magnum opus …And Out Come The Wolves (still one of my favorite all-time albums hard…
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Dead Boys ‘Young, Loud, and Snotty’ (1977)
Young, Loud and Snotty encapsulates the raw, no‑holds‑barred ethos that defined early American punk rock. Channeling the ferocious energy of Iggy Pop and the Stooges with the swagger of Keith Richards, their sound was an untamed, furious blend of taut precision and primal impulse. From the feral opening of “Sonic Reducer” (which has been covered…
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MxPx ‘The Ever Passing Moment’ (2000)
I’ve previously waxed poetic about MxPx and how they were one of “gateway” bands into the magical world of punk rock music during my middle school years. I’ll always hold Life In General a notch above everything else in their discography for the simple fact that it was the first album of theirs I listened…
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Carnivores ‘Let’s Get Metaphysical’ (2014)
Carnivores’ were a pretty unknown band from Glasgow (74 monthly listeners) that I stumbled on a few weeks ago via a random Spotify playlist. I popped them on and was incredibly impressed in a short matter of time– it’s like garage rock meets post-hardcore in a very fun and frenetic way. Basically if you’re looking…
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Good Charlotte ‘The Young and The Hopeless’ (2002)
I was never a huge Good Charlotte fan (they always struck me as sort of synthetic) but there’s no denying the massive cultural impact the band had on the early-2000’s MTV era of punk rock music. The Madden brothers were all over the celebrity circuit, ended up marrying Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz, and cut…
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Social Distortion ‘Social Distortion’ (1990)
Social Distortion carved out a sound as raw and restless as the Southern California streets they came from, fusing the sneer of punk with the swagger of rockabilly into a sound that sounds like the flick of switchblade in some biker bar in Nowhereville, USA. When lead singer (and primary songwriter) Mike Ness howls through…
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Bilmuri ‘American Motor Sports’ (2024)
Bilmuri’s American Motor Sports is far from the most interesting conglomeration of music genres I’ve listened to over the past three years (that honor would go to Carmen’s 1973 album Fandangos In Space which blended flamenco music with prog-rock sensibilities) but it’s certainly an album that has stuck with me in a similar fashion. American…
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The Lookouts ‘Spy Rock Road’ (1989)
The Lookouts were known for a couple of things in their brief history as a band. For starters, the band was based in Laytonville which is basically a remote mountain community on the outskirts of Mendocino County in California. To give you some context, the 2020 census was 1,200 people which certainly doesn’t scream “punk…
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Alexisonfire ‘Watch Out!’ (2004)
Alexisonfire was a defining band in the post-hardcore scene for me during my high school years. I loved (and still love) their melodic meets murderous dual vocal approach. George Pettit’s raw, aggressive screams pair perfectly with Dallas Green’s soaring clean vocals that creates a powerful contrast that feels so damn grandiose and epic every time…
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Mission Of Burma ‘Signals, Calls and Marches’ (1981)
In the early 80’s Mission of Burma was known for their intense, angular sound that blended punk energy with experimental noise and art-rock sensibilities. This combination played no small part in crystallizing the American post-punk movement. They stood out from a lot of their contemporaries in the space by using atypical sounds like tape loops…
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Hüsker Dü ‘Zen Arcade’ (1984)
In the canon of American underground hardcore music few bands have cast a shadow as long and as quietly commanding as Hüsker Dü. These dudes basically wrote the playbook for hardcore punk becoming commercially viable, transitioning into a more alternative-focused band in the 80’s based off the sheer strength of the songwriting from guitarist/vocalist Bob…
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Spanish Love Songs ‘Brave Faces Everyone’ (2020)
Spanish Love Songs isn’t for everyone. But they certainly are for me. I love their Americana-tinged pop punk, the raw vocals from lead singer Dylan Slocum, and the honesty in which they approach their songwriting. Every song is a story that comes from a place of honesty. While Slocum’s harsh “yell-sing” vocals may be grating…
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WSTR ‘Red, Green Or Inbetween’ (2017)
Pop punk has historically been by and large dominated by American bands for it’s entire lifespan. That’s starting to change a bit, with British acts (like WSTR) beginning to gain more and more prominence. Their debut full-length album Red, Green Or Inbetween is a fun romp through all of the tropes that make pop punk…
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Foo Fighters ‘Foo Fighters’ (1995)
Dave Grohl was at a personal and career crossroads when he went into record Foo Fighters debut album all by himself. Six days later, the foundation for one of rock’s most enduring bands was born.
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Knuckle Puck ‘Copacetic’ (2015)
Sometimes you want to listen to a record that doesn’t overthink things, especially in the pop punk genre. No frills. No gimmicks. Just heart-on-your-sleeve hooks delivered with conviction until your voice is completely shredded by the time you hit track four. Knuckle Puck’s debut album Copacetic is just that. The Chicago quintet carved out their…
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The Vandals ‘Look What I Almost Stepped In’ (2000)
The Vandals are one of those bands I loved before I had any idea of their significance in the punk rock genre. I first stumbled upon this album during middle school when I was basically mainlining punk records directly into my veins and it stood out for a couple of reasons. The first was how…
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The Offspring ‘Smash’ (1994)
From the road rage glorifying “Bad Habit” to the sloppy vocal intro and self depreciation of “Self Esteem”, The Offspring always had a great sense of bringing dark humor to the seedier parts of life and turning them into massive anthems. I’ll always appreciate them for that.
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Related to Strangers ‘GHOST’ (2025)
Today we cover the creative process behind the debut album of my band Related to Strangers. You’ll get an inside look at what the songs are about and the process we took to write the album. Hope you enjoy.
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Thrice ‘The Artist in the Ambulance’ (2003)
To say this The Artist in the Ambulance is one of my favorite albums of all-time might be an understatement. This is one of the best post-hardcore heavy rock albums of all time. Today we explore why.
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