Deviates

Time is the Distance is the sophomore effort for this South Bay punk band. That said, it's quite astonishing that the songwriting and musicianship is so damn good. Although Pennywise may have taken the Deviates under their wing and guided them into Epitaph central, the Deviates are a far superior band to Pennywise. Definite old-school hardcore influences like Black Flag can be heard in their sound, as well as new-school melodic punk flavorings that began with Bad Religion. The fluidity of these 14 tracks makes for a great punk listen from start to finish. Although the Deviates may not be original in their sound, they are definitely better than 80 percent of the bands out there trying to pull this off.