Sinkhole

The debut full-length from this Boston-based band is a little known pop-punk masterpiece. From the start-stop rhythms of "Red Dog" to the spoken word ferocity of "Wreck on the Highway," this album is a fun, fast joyride. Hell, they even made "Come Sail Away" sound cool, years before Eric Cartman made it infamous.

Those who've gone through a nasty breakup can easily relate to the simplicity of "Lemon Fantastic," where the band sings in chorus: "I try to think, what it is about you I hate. I see your face, and I want to puke my guts up. And if I do it will be on you."

If this album has a true highlight (though there are many contenders such as "Waterbug" and "Leaner Days"), it is the snotty goodness of "Never Is Now," which climaxes with "I knew a girl, she was indifferent to know me. But she had a heart that she wouldn't show me. One day she took me aside she said: 'You'll never see me cry.' So I looked her in the eye and said never is now."

Sinkhole took a burgeoning pop-punk sound and made it their own. Thirteen years later, these guys would be an easy fit on the Recess Records label. If you dig that old pop-punk sound and newer bands like Toys That Kill, do yourself a favor and check out any of Sinkhole's albums, including the killer retrospective Retrospectacles.

***As an aside, singer/drummer Chris Pierce concurrently played in the harder sounding and equally fantastic Doc Hopper.