2013: Year End Review by Dustin Blumhagen

15. Direct Hit! : Brainless God : Red Scare Industries

These guys make pop punk fresh again. Blending classic catchy melodies with Fest friendly structures, Direct Hit! bridge musical generations. Fuck You!

14. World’s Scariest Police Chases: NOFX…And Out Comes The Wolves, Dookie : A-F Records

Holy shit, where have these guys been hiding? This is a much needed refreshing steel toe kick to the teeth of punk rock.

In the midst of tumultuous changes, Polar Bear Club reemerges with a strong album that grows with repeated listens. 

Lindi has the voice of an angel. Punk rock enough for Mike Ness, so she should be punk rock enough for you. Haunted melodies, dark themes and bad ass rockabilly, country and hints of the blues. Simultaneously the woman of your dreams and nightmares.

11. Dropkick Murphys : Signed & Sealed in Blood: Born & Bred Records

The Murphys have been around long enough that listeners know what to expect. Still, they manage to go above and beyond with S&S, deftly blending punk rock and folk traditions, equally comfortable singing hockey anthems and folk ditties like Rose Tattoo.  

10. Arliss Nancy: Wild American Runners: Black Numbers Records

Aiming for the same sonic space that Lucero hail from, Arliss Nancy once again provided some high quality gritty punk country music.

9. Old Wives/ Blendours: Here We Go Again:  Eccentric Pop Records

Short, fast, catchy. The Old Wives aim for Riverdales and early Green Day style pop punk, while The Blendours lean more toward early Blink 182. This is a great introduction to two bands you may not know… yet.

8. Off With Their Heads : Home : Epitaph Records

These guys get better with each release. Home is amazing. Gritty, passionate punk rock.

7. Get Dead: Bad News : Fat Wreck Chords

Folk inflected punk rock. Vaguely reminiscent of classic Swingin’ Utters, these guys impress with a great debut.

6. The Isotopes: The First Four Seasons : Self Released

Catchy as hell, these guys provide the perfect soundtrack to “America’s game.” As a Canadian, I can’t help thinking it would be a little better if they were singing about hockey, but as a sports fan, I’m down with this.

5. Masked Intruder: Masked Intruder [Re-Issue] : Fat Wreck Chords

These guys make me laugh. Insanely sweet bubblegum pop punk from the perspective of criminals. Hoods have hearts too!

4. Defeater: Letters Home : Brigde Nine Records

Holy fuck, Defeater is amazing. Extending the narrative that they’ve built over the past couple albums, they provide a solid release of abrasive hardcore. Not quite as epic as their last album, it neverless is a must listen.

3. The Wonder Years: The Greatest Generation : Hopeless Records

Soupy and the Gang returned with force with another slab of high quality neo-pop punk. The songs are catchy, but the lyrics are the foundation of The Wonder Years music.

2. Mixtapes : Ordinary Silence: No Sleep Records

I fucking love Mixtapes. They make me smile. Everything they release is pure gold.

1. Dave Hause : Devour : Rise Records

Rarely am I happy that a band breaks up, but in this case it worked out for the best. Hause intended these songs for the Loved Ones, but recorded them for himself. Beautiful. Heart wrenching. Painfully poignant.