June 30, 2021
The mid-’90s to the early years of the 2000s were an interesting time in American music, when bands like Sum 41, Blink-182 and Green Day dominated the Top 40, and pop punk became an inescapable radio fixture. But along with the mainstreaming of punk rock, Christian bookstore shelves were stocked with dozens of albums from CCM’s own brand of pop punk music.
Here’s our look back at 15 of the Christian punk’s most memorable bands from the glory days of the genre. (Note: Even though there’s been a ton of punk-inspired bands since the movement’s heyday, our rankings which are, obviously, extremely official, and should not be questioned in the slightest focus on bands active in the late-’90s to early 2000s good old days. Also, like a lot of “Christian music” genres, some of the bands have disputed the label of being “Christian” bands. But, for the sake of our rankings, we’ve chosen artists who have put out music on Christian labels and are generally
Far Enough.
Cable Ties take the three minute punk burner and stretch it past breaking point to deliver smouldering feminist anthems. Post-punk and garage rock hammered together by a relentless rhythmic pulse. Three friends summoning a rhythmic tide to deliver anthems that turn latent anxieties into a rallying cry.
Far Enough was released in March 2020 by Poison City and enjoyed
RRR Album Of The Week and earned the band
Best Rock/Punk Album at the 2020 Music Victoria Awards.
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Cable Ties foray into gaming
By Cat Woods
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“And if I can t hope, nothing s ever gonna change.” So go the lyrics to Melbourne band Cable Ties’ song
Hope, which is the soundtrack to a new independent game. In April, the band were invited to collaborate with game designer Cecile Richard and producer Maize Wallin on crafting the soundtrack to Richard s game,
Hope. The game, free online, is designed to challenge feelings of hopelessness and confront issues of anxiety and self-criticism.
Jenny McKechnie (left), Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown.
The collaboration was the Indie Bands x Indie Developers pilot project of the Victorian Music Development Office, which partners indie musicians with indie video game creators. The VMDO has existed for just over two years, delivered by Music Victoria, specifically for the music industry. Katie Stewart, general manager of VMDO, was familiar with both Cable Ties and Richard’s work and saw a synergy between t