Bracket

It’s almost hard to believe that these guys used to be on Fat Wreck Chords. On their first studio album in six years, the NoCal quartet sound more like the Beach Boys than NOFX. This 17-track epic concept album of sorts has been a long time coming and man was it worth the wait. This could be the punk rock equivalent of Pet Sounds. It’s experimental, it’s poppy, it’s melodic, it’s brimming with multi-part vocal harmonies and non-traditional punk rock instrumentation — it’s what Jawbreaker might have sounded like if Brian Wilson had produced 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. The album continues the "Warren’s Song” theme laid out in previous releases but ups the ante by naming every song another part of the "Warren’s Song” saga. Requiem is a remarkable album from a band that used its hiatus wisely and creatively.