45 Best Punk Albums of 2020
I think it goes without saying how insane of a year 2020 was, but there were things to be grateful for too, and one of those things is the incredible amount of great punk records that came out this year. Aside from the fact that so many of these albums had messages that resonated strongly this year, it was inspiring to see how the punk community came together during some of the toughest times, even in a year where we couldn t get together physically. Throughout the whole year, this vast community protested, amplified voices, launched fundraisers, and helped support so many people, and released a lot of great music in the process. I tried to narrow down the best of it to 45 albums and EPs, but it wasn t easy. Countless great records came out this year under the punk umbrella, and even stopping at 45 meant leaving out some great ones.
In April 2021, Clash books will release Aaron Carnes
In Defense of Ska. The book is an astounding piece of music history. The book explores the history of ska, ruminates on modern ska, and takes, deep, deep, deep dives into obscure ska factoids. Via hundreds and hundreds of interviews with musicians, Carnes weaves the stories involving the big name hitters (Less than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Fishbone) with the medium size ska-champs (Skankin Pickle, MU330, Bomb the music Inudustry!), with the forgotten bands that only Carnes knows. Carnes himself played in the post two-tone/pre-3rd wave band Flat Planet, Roadied for Skankin Pickle, and also worked at Asian Man Records.