Audio By Carbonatix
Keep Westword Free
We’re $4,500 away from our spring campaign goal!
We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print.
Before the ideas of “pop” and “punk” were grafted in unholy union, there were bands that didn’t know there was ever a difference. Add the Hacks to that list. Influenced by the gruff, Oi!-tinged punk of Channel 3 or Sham 69 and the almost conceptual sloppiness of Crimpshrine (whose “Fucked Up Kid” is covered here), East Colfax Avenue flies its tattered old-school flag with drunken pride. From the poignant social realism of “Drank the Rent” to the forced-march sing-along of “Skate Song,” the Hacks deliver us from the insidious clutches of modern punk — like we were scared in the first place.
