The So So Glos - Kamikaze (2016)

Influenced by the punk energy of the Clash, the garage rock of the Stooges, and the '60s pop of the Kinks, the So So Glos are a politically charged punk outfit from Brooklyn, New York. Brothers Alex (lead vocals, bass) and Ryan Levine (guitar) and stepbrother Zach Staggers (drums) had played in bands together from a young age -- early incarnations included SPITT, Urban Eyze, and Every Other Weekend -- but only began touring when they recruited guitarist Matt Elkin in 2007, the same year they released their self-titled debut album. Frustrated by the lack of under-21 venues in their hometown, in 2008 they joined with D.I.Y. show promoter Todd P to co-found an all-ages venue, the Market Hotel, before touring in support of Titus Andronicus and Santigold in the U.S. and the Virgins and ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead in the U.K. A year later, they released their Tourism/Terrorism EP, and followed it with another EP, Low Back Chain Shift, in 2010. That same year, the Market Hotel was shut down and they opened up a new venue for local D.I.Y. punks at the appropriately named Shea Stadium, which went on to expand beyond the boroughs and attract bands from all over the country. Their second long-player, the breakthrough Blowout, was released in 2013 and merited inclusion in a number of year-end lists by major publications. In the process of writing the follow-up, the So So Glos nearly imploded, but they managed to record Kamikaze, their third LP, which was released in 2016. ~ Jon O'Brien & Neil Z. Yeung.