Switchblade Comb

Punk Rock Monday is a feature on Switchblade Comb where Rich takes a look back at some of his favorite punk rock albums of the last 30 years.

Band: Adolescents
Album: Adolescents
Year: 1981

I figured the Adolescents’ self titled debut album is a good place to start for this new column since it’s a record by a band that I’ve loved for a long time but just recently found a vinyl copy of.

For those unaware Adolescents were one of the front runners of the early 80′s California scene along with Social Distortion, The Descendents, and Dead Kennedys. A supergroup of sorts as the band was started by former members of Social Distortion and Agent Orange, Adolescents’ debut self titled album was the second best selling punk rock album in California for 1981 behind only Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys.

Musically the band stayed pretty true to the Orange County sound of mixing the more hardcore elements of punk rock with Darby Crash inspired vocals and just enough melody to make it catchy and sing-alongable. To this day songs like “Kids of the Black Hole”, “Wrecking Crew”, “Creatures”, and “Rip It Up” remain some of the best documents of that early 80′s California scene.

Crucial Track: “Kids of the Black Hole”