Punk rock has always been about breaking the rules. Whether in the form of outlandish stage antics, anti-establishment subject matter, or the abandonment of traditional songwriting, punk and counter-culture have been invariably intertwined since its origins in the mid-70’s. That ethos is still very much present in the bands at the cutting edge of punk in 2021. The late 2010’s proved to be a hotbed of creativity for the genre, and this year alone has seen excellent releases from acts like Squid, shame, and Black Country, New Road (not to mention a punk-adjacent album by prog rock group black midi). These songs are noisy, nervy, shameless, frantic and above all mindbogglingly creative.

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