The Hacks

Before the ideas of "pop" and "punk" were grafted in unholy union, there were bands that didn't know there was ever a difference. Add the Hacks to that list. Influenced by the gruff, Oi!-tinged punk of Channel 3 or Sham 69 and the almost conceptual sloppiness of Crimpshrine (whose "Fucked Up Kid" is covered here), East Colfax Avenue flies its tattered old-school flag with drunken pride. From the poignant social realism of "Drank the Rent" to the forced-march sing-along of "Skate Song," the Hacks deliver us from the insidious clutches of modern punk -- like we were scared in the first place. -Jason Heller