Only Crime

Punk rock super-groups unite! Comprised of current and former members of a grocery list of bands that includes Good Riddance, Bane, Converge, Gwar, Descendents/ALL and Black Flag, Only Crime have a bunch of great records to live up to. Fronted by GR vocalist Russ Rankin, the band bear the most similarities to Rankin’s aggressively melodic brand of punk. Taking a serious departure from the mid-’90s Fat Wreck sound of his other project, however, Only Crime mix in more straight-up rock sounds. The verses have a syncopated rock kick to them but come chorus time, everything opens up in a big, A Complete Guide to Modern Rebellion kind of way. The changes keep things interesting, particularly on stand outs like "Everything For You” and the two-minute epic closer "Xanthology,” which succeeds in bringing together drummer Bill Stevenson’s work with Black Flag and the Descendents seamlessly.