Punk in Drublic (20th Anniversary Reissue)

Though NOFX have stuck closely to their powerhouse hard-and-fast pop-punk sensibility since their inception in 1983, their focus, chemistry, and songwriting skills improved steadily over the years, and '94's PUNK IN DRUBLIC is arguably their finest moment. If not for their in-your-face punk aesthetic, NOFX would qualify as a fine power-pop band. A knack for harmonies and deft, melodic hooks (which are seemingly tossed out left and right throughout the album) are no small part of the band's success, as the anthemic chorus of "The Cause" and the ringing refrain and "da-na-na-na" bridge of "Leave It Alone" prove. But NOFX rocks like nobody's business to boot. Near-speed-metal drumming, walls of crunching guitars, and fierce, power-chord-driven structures keep things churning and frothing throughout. The band's usual zany humor is in full force here, as on their ode to linoleum ("Linoleum"); but their goofy satire also reaches into thought-provoking territory with songs about race issues--"Don't Call Me White" and "The Brews," a tune about an orthodox Jewish gang. Witty, catchy, and full of gutsy punch, PUNK IN DRUBLIC eventually went gold, and solidified NOFX's place in the front ranks of the pop-punk movement.