10 Crucial Punk Rock Bands Currently Active
5. Pop Punk (US) - State Champs
From the past, to the future. Much to the dismay of the majority of the scene's originators, punk began going through a phase in the 90s and early 00s, one that saw an abundance of younger (mostly American) kids beginning to mimic the punk scene and incorporate more radio-friendly pop hooks into it.
Pop punk, primarily dependent on your age, is either the greatest thing to ever happen to punk, or the worst. While never famed for inspiring and clever lyrics, this shift to a more pop centric sound was a saviour for punk, just when it had begun a dangerous downward spiral out of the public eye.
Blink-182 best represent this change, bringing together the cargo shorts wearing rejects together with the high school jocks in unison with deliciously melodic tunes that sink their teeth deep into the vocal chords of anyone who listens. This stuff is contagious.
As with everything though, pop punk had a shelf life.
Enter Albany-based pop punkers State Champs.
Still a young band, State Champs have been making waves on the punk scene for a number of years, a leading force in the mini-pop punk revival of 2014, and dropping four killer albums in the process, the most recent of which declaring themselves the 'Kings of the New Age'.
With all the traits of a band who could impact music just like Blink-182, State Champs still have a ways to go, but at the current moment, no one within the pop punk scene can touch them. Except...