Good Riddance on DeBaser: reviews, albums, essentials

Good Riddance

Musical Group

Forfans of melodic hardcore and politically charged punk, fat wreck chords devotees, and anyone tracing california punk’s sharper edge.
5 Reviews 1 Definitions 2 Charts

The Profile

Good Riddance are an American melodic hardcore band from Santa Cruz, California, formed in 1986. Known for politically charged lyrics and releases on Fat Wreck Chords, they disbanded in 2007, reunited in 2012, and returned with Peace in Our Time (2015) and Thoughts and Prayers (2019).

Core members include Russ Rankin (vocals), Luke Pabich (guitar), Chuck Platt (bass), and Sean Sellers (drums). Associated with Fat Wreck Chords and known for fast, melodic hardcore with social and political themes; Peace in Our Time involved producer Bill Stevenson.

DeBaser’s reviews paint Good Riddance as a Santa Cruz melodic hardcore institution: fast, sharp, and socially engaged. The debut is praised as intense and gritty; Ballads From the Revolution is hailed a compact masterpiece. Operation Phoenix is highlighted as their fiercest, hardcore-leaning outlier. My Republic brings back Sean Sellers and a more polished edge. Peace In Our Time seals the reunion with smart, tight, Bill Stevenson-guided fire.

Notable Quotes

❝ this is a masterpiece.

❝ all with great aggression... pure hardcore, truly beautiful.

❝ Peace In Our Time is the pick that unlocks the lock, finding the right compromise between lyrics and anger and a fair, but never excessive dose of sing-along.

❝ Great debut for the band of Russ Rankin & Co., truly intense and gritty...

❝ Operation Phoenix indeed represents a unique case in their discography, distancing them in part from that characteristic '90s sound and often veering into adrenaline-fueled bursts of pure hardcore in full East Coast style.