2003 was a prolific year for punk music. The United States’ decision to invade Iraq had been unpopular, particularly among punk musicians, so it was a shock to nobody that this famously anti-government genre had so much to say about George W. Bush. They despised him, his unjust war, his nepo-baby presidency, his tax cuts for the rich, his botched speeches, his civil liberty violations, his…sorry, this isn’t about Bush…
In a way though, every punk album that came out in 2003 owes some of its success to the political climate of the time. Nothing energized early 2000s punks more than politics. The ’90s-era punk albums about skateboarding just didn’t cut it anymore. A proper punk album needed a sound byte of Bush mispronouncing something. It needed a catchy title that said “we don’t support this war.” It maybe needed a caricature of Bush with a clown nose. Yeah, that’ll show him.
The ‘03 punk scene was ultimately unsuccessful in removing George Bush from office or ending the Iraq invasion, but their anger was channeled into one of the best years of the decade for punk music. And these albums all turn 21 this year. So keep an eye out for them while you wait outside 7-11 trying to convince somebody you “lost your I.D at a show.” If you have the patience to listen while they rant about how we never found any weapons of mass destruction, they might help you turn that crisp twenty into an unrefrigerated 12-pack with no change. Anything to prove they’re still cool after all these years.
U.S. Bombs “Covert Action”
If you read a description of U.S. Bombs (formed in Orange County in 1993 and fronted by a professional skater), you would never correctly guess what their music sounded like. This is not skate- or pop-punk. “Covert Action” is pure street punk. It would blend right in with all of the ’80s punk albums that featured a forced British accent regardless of their country of origin.’
The Offspring “Splinter”
After the success of “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy),” The Offspring started a trend with their albums where they would focus almost all of their energy into one or two singles and then fill up another 30 minutes to call it an album. “Hit That” delivers as the token single on this album. “Splinter” is a still decent way to spend 30 minutes of your day, but it’s no “Smash” or “Ixnay On The Hombre.”
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros “Streetcore”
Joe Strummer was working on this album when he died of a heart attack in 2002. It serves as a fitting goodbye to one of the original punk rockers. A few songs feature first-take vocals, as these were all that was available. If the rawness of Strummer’s vocals on the last song, “Silver and Gold” doesn’t leave you teary-eyed, remove that Clash patch from your vest and pick a new genre to base your personality on.
The Exploited “Fuck the System”
Do you want a good old-fashioned dose of UK hardcore that will leave your pulse elevated and your ears ringing? The Exploited are there for you. “Fuck the System” contains all of the anger and yelling The Exploited were famous for in the ‘80s. If you’d like to see the nearly 70-year-old frontman Wattie Buchan live, the Exploited are currently in the middle of a world tour, 21 years after the release of their most recent album.
Good Riddance “Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection”
When you think of the West Coast punk scene, one of the first places that comes to mind is obviously Santa Cruz, California. Well, maybe not, but this coastal hippie town is a logical home for vegan activist types, and the straight edge hardcore bands they love to form. Good Riddance is all of the above. This album champions activism over nihilism while complaining about politicians to an extent that stands out, even among punks.
Lagwagon “Blaze”
“Blaze” shows that a vocalist doesn’t always need to scream to make a high-energy record. Joey Cape chose to let his lyrics complement the instruments rather than fight against them for our attention. But this is still very clearly a punk album. It’s nice to occasionally take a break from listening to punk singers destroy their vocal cords for our entertainment.
Bouncing Souls “Anchors Aweigh”
This is pop-punk made for suburban bros. It was always playing in that one friend’s car when you were in high school. You enjoyed it but he got really defensive one night when you called the Souls pop-punk and then he didn’t offer to drive for the next several weekends. You should revisit “Anchors Aweigh” when you get the chance. It’s been decades since then. We promise not to tell him that you secretly liked this album too.
Strike Anywhere “Exit English”
This is about as emo-curious as melodic hardcore gets. Choruses designed to be chanted along by crowds. Seamless melodic elements between them. And then those little screamed bits for emphasis that always end up in (parenthesis) when the lyrics are written down. It all seems a bit…emo? But if Strike Anywhere chooses to identify as melodic hardcore, we respect their preference
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The Briggs “Numbers”
On first listen, you might assume The Briggs were overusing double tracking on the choruses of this album. In reality, you’re hearing brothers Joey and Jason LaRocca share vocal duties. The result is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. If you’re a fan of gruff punk vocals and crowd-chanted choruses, you’ll appreciate the more-is-more approach taken with both on “Numbers”. The brothers also showed us that sometimes the only word you really need for a chorus is “whoa”.
Pennywise “From The Ashes”
If you’ve ever enjoyed any Pennywise album, you’ll like this one too. The only thing that has changed about Pennywise’s sound is the increase in production quality over the last three decades. While the band will likely never have another hit like “Bro Hymn,” that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying all of the anti-government anger found in tracks such as “God Save the USA.”
AFI “Sing The Sorrow”
AFI fans can be split into distinct groups. They either like AFI’s early hardcore albums and stopped listening when the band went more mainstream, or they had never heard of AFI before “Miss Murder” was on MTV in 2006. This album straddles the line perfectly between AFI’s hardcore roots and pop-friendly later years. Around the same time, Davey Havock’s ever-changing hair began its transformation from clone-of-Danzig to the Flock of Seagulls bangs popular with the kids at the time.
The Suicide Machines “A Match & Some Gasoline”
The Suicide Machines continued to demonstrate that it doesn’t matter how undeniably hardcore your music sounds, there is a magic number of upstrokes that, once they’ve been played on an album, will get you labeled as a ska band. It doesn’t matter that your fantastic album is completely devoid of trombones, the public will still use the dreaded S-word to describe it. Now go stand in the corner next to Operation Ivy and think about the choices you’ve made, Suicide Machines.
Blink-182 “Self-Titled”
You could argue if you want about whether Blink-182’s most “emo” album to date is actually “punk” or not. You could point out that nobody else sounded like Tom DeLonge before Blink-182 because his accent is just some weird affectation that he adopted to sound unique. Or you could turn “I Miss You” all the way up on the drive home from your shitty job at TGI Friday’s and yell “WEH-RARR-YEWW” right along with him.
The Bronx “The Bronx (I)”
The Bronx sounds like the band that would be on stage in an action movie while the main character runs from the cops through a punk venue. This debut album brought the energy of a typical SoCal hardcore group, while making sure to enunciate clearly enough that even a new listener could understand the lyrics. The Bronx would eventually tire of exclusively making punk music and release several albums as “Mariachi El Bronx,” which are worth checking out if you’ve always wanted to hear a punk band sing mariachi.
Dropkick Murphys “Blackout”
Boston natives The Dropkick Murphys returned to prove that most Americans can easily be convinced that every blue-collar Bostonian is an Irish immigrant. This album features fewer covers of traditional Irish songs, instead opting for more original offerings made to sound like traditional Irish songs. The tour around this album was when the era’s punks learned not to look up while every show’s token jackass crowd surfed above them in a utili-kilt.
The Distillers “Coral Fang”
The Distillers released their final album less than four years after their first. Their sound had matured by this time. Gone are the lyrics about political upheaval and revolution, replaced instead by references to suffering, bleeding, hanging, and all the other indicators that a lyricist is kind of going through some shit. Though you would never know it watching singer Brody Dalle live at the time. Dalle actually seems most comfortable when she’s on stage screaming.
Against Me! “As the Eternal Cowboy”
The previous year’s “Reinventing Axl Rose” was a flawless debut for singer Laura Jane Grace, even though every song sounded like a solo act with a backing band added later, because they were. Grace spent the next year in the studio crafting a sound that included 3 other band members from the start, rather than including them as an afterthought for her solo work. This album seamlessly switches between high-energy belting and the still-shouted vocals in Grace’s mellower acoustic songs.
Rancid “Indestructible”
This album was a welcomed return to normalcy after Rancid got a little too experimental in 1998 with “Life Won’t Wait” and tried to overcompensate with an all-hardcore album in 2000. No Rancid show is complete without this album’s sing-along hit “Fall Back Down”. The six years they spent not releasing music after this album have caused fans to think of it as “the new album” to this day, even though Rancid has released four more since this.
Streetlight Manifesto “Everything Goes Numb”
This is the ultimate “hall pass” listen for people who hate ska music. They’re technically a ska-punk band, but this doesn’t feel like the rest of the corny bullshit that plagued the ‘90s. No other band can shoehorn a brass section into punk music in such a satisfyingly forgivable way. “A Moment of Violence,” in particular, will leave you wondering why there aren’t trumpets and saxophones in every punk lineup.
Rise Against “Revolutions Per Minute”
In this list of bands that have almost all been making music since the ‘80s, this album from Rise Against stands out. Their sophomore release shows off singer Tim McIlrath’s vocal range. There are much more screamed vocals here than a typical melodic hardcore production. Lesser vocalists would ruin their voices from trying to keep up with this pace of screaming, but McIlrath would continue to make punk music long enough after this for casual fans to accuse Rise Against of selling out.
NOFX “The War On Errorism”
This followed every rule for early-2000s punk. The songs are loud, fast, and short. The lyrics are all shouted in Fat Mike’s trademark nasally whine. And the cover art! Is that George Bush caricatured with a little clown nose in front of the American flag? Take that you fuckin’ chump! Complaining about the government had been elevated to an art form with Errorism, only for NOFX purists to complain it wasn’t as good as “Punk in Drublic.” It says so much about NOFX that this isn’t considered their best album. The best punk release of 2003 barely cracked the top-3 of their respectable catalog.