Fistful of Hollow 

Fat Wreck Chords

Street: 11.11.14

Swingin’ Utters = The Replacements + US Bombs

It’s impossible to name anyone the best punk rock band in the world, but a great case could be made for Swingin’ Utters. They have the ability to recall the sounds and notions from the days of ’77—but nothing sounds stale, and everything this band does progresses them forward so they never repeat themselves. Fistful of Hollow is an exemplary record of what they are good at.

There’s no gimmick or counterfeit representations—they’ve been at this for over 20 years, and every step they’ve taken has made them better along the way. Lead singer Johnny Bonnel may have an enormous amount of talent backing him, but his pleasingly gravelly voice is the tip of a missile with a devastating punk rock payload. I could call this my favorite Utters record because I’m enjoying it so much, but over time, it’ll fade into the bigger masterwork of everything this band has created. –James Orme