Underclass Hero

Rise up, pop-punk fans, and salute Sum 41: With Blink-182 broken up and Good Charlotte going for a rock vibe, the boys from Ontario stand a chance at reinvigorating the entire stalled subgenre. Not just because the competition has thinned, but because Underclass Hero is just that great. Though nobody would accuse lead singer Deryck Whibley of sounding like Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong, he bites into the politically charged lyrics that course through this 14-track set as hard: "March of the Dogs," "The Jester," and "Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times" are served up with a spasmodic sneer (and, in the case of the latter, a lyric that will resonate with legions of the exasperated: "Confusion's all I see/Frustration surrounds me/Solution's bid farewell/Sedation? What the hell"), and the title track comes bounding out of stereo speakers with both outrage and lit-up energy. On the lighter side, the ballad "With Me" is sweet and simple enough to recall Plain White Ts, and "Ma Poubelle," a French ditty, strikes a weird Beatle-y chord before rapidly dissolving. Does Sum 41 add up to the hottest pop-punk band going, then? For sure. Do the math. --Tammy La Gorce

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