The best punk album of the year, Austin or otherwise, wasn’t recorded this year. For that matter, the locals haven’t existed as a band since 2013. From their beginnings nearly 20 years before that, the Chumps distilled a violent collision of the Ramones, New York Dolls, and AC/DC: crunch riffs, pressure-drop rhythms from drummer Aaron Fox and future Eastside Suicides/Flash Boys spectacle Frankie Nowhere on bass, former local photographer Sean McGowan’s pugnacious vox, and Duane Holtz reflecting the stripped-down aesthetic with only four strings on his guitar. This posthumous 12-tracker captures the quartet’s raw power, anthemic blasts “Paper” and “What You Need” taking proper place alongside decades of homegrown DIY classics. Their definitive rendition of Rose Tattoo’s “Nice Boys” finally finds a loving home. Essential documentation of Austin punk.

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This article appears in December 25 • 2015.

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Tim Stegall contributed to The Austin Chronicle 1991-1995, and was a staff writer 1995-1997. He returned as a contributor in 2013. He has also freelanced for publications ranging from Flipside to Alternative Press to Guitar World. He plays punk rock guitar and sings in the Hormones.