Box Car Racer: emo, post-hardcore and a darker Blink-182 detour

Box Car Racer

Musical Group

Forfans of blink-182, emo/post-hardcore listeners, and early-2000s alternative rock enthusiasts.
3 Reviews 0 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

Box Car Racer is an American rock project formed by Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker with David Kennedy, active 2001–2003. They released one self-titled album in 2002, spawning the singles I Feel So and There Is, leaning into emo/post-hardcore with production by Jerry Finn.

Guests noted in reviews include Tim Armstrong (Rancid), Jordan Pundik (New Found Glory), and Mark Hoppus. Reviews highlight darker themes than Blink-182, prominent drumming by Travis Barker, and influences from Fugazi and Rites of Spring.

Reviews frame Box Car Racer as Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker’s darker, emo/post-hardcore offshoot from Blink-182, with David Kennedy (and Anthony Celestino on bass). Jerry Finn’s production and Barker’s drumming draw praise, alongside the emotional pull of tracks like I Feel So, There Is, Letters To God and Cat Like Thief. Fugazi and Rites of Spring are cited influences, and guest spots include Tim Armstrong, Jordan Pundik and Mark Hoppus. Overall reception is warmly positive, calling the album a small early-2000s gem.

Notable Quotes

❝ It is the side-project of Tom DeLonge (former guitarist of Blink182) and Travis Barker (former drummer of Blink182) with the participation of David Kennedy on guitar and Anthony Celestino on bass.

❝ Talking about the violence of sound would be inappropriate, incoherent with the album's content, but it is nonetheless an album that is defenseless only in appearance and, if provoked, takes on an irresistible battle posture, armed with a sequence of relentless and cohesive singles that deliver to the discography of the early 2000s a small gem hidden among bulky merchandise.