25 years ago punk rock was, at least in the eyes of the mainstream, undergoing something of a resurgence. Green Day had just released Dookie and The Offspring had dropped Smash and into this, like the fly in the ointment they always seem to strive to be, came NoFX with Punk In Drublic – arguably the Californian quartet’s high point and certainly their breakthrough.

By that stage the band, made up of Fat Mike (bass/vocals), El Hefe (lead guitar/vocals/trumpet), Eric Melvin (guitar/vocals) and Smelly (drums) were already veterans of the scene, having been together and releasing music for over a decade but it seems the zeitgeist was just right to launch them to worldwide fame as they dropped what was their fifth full album.

It kicks off with one of several tracks that have become staples of the band’s repertoire, Linoleum, combining trademark frantic but precise drumming with hyper speed buzzsaw guitars, fuzzy bass and Fat Mike’s trademark sneered vocals, all telling a fairly grim and gritty story of ‘punk’ life but with a surprisingly positive twinkle in its eye.

These tales and celebrations of life and characters from the scene are one of the threads that mark not just this record, but NoFX’s output throughout. Here it’s highlighted by not just Linoleum but Jeff Wears Birkenstocks, Punk Guy and Reeko.

Politics is a big part of NoFX’s output, and is something that has been at the forefront since The War On Errorism in 2003, but it’s always been there, particularly in this case on Perfect Government.

Social politics is more to the fore here though, particularly Mike’s relationship with his Jewish heritage and how it’s viewed by others as explored on Don’t Call Me White and The Brews both of which became trademark tracks for the band.

While the subject matter is reasonably varied, and they still find time for a good dose of humour both puerile and satirically or cynically cutting in their own way, the music is, possibly surprisingly varied, especially if Green Day and The Offspring had been your introduction to punk.

Across the record we get blistering hardcore influenced skate punk, ska, reggae and even some cod crooning thanks to El Hefe, making for a surprisingly varied 40 minutes of listening.

This stylistic variety, along with the social and political undertones, in many ways makes NoFX a bit like The Clash to Green Day’s Buzzcocks and The Offsprings Sex Pistols – though I think its fair to say Rancid feel more closely linked to The Clash but they didn’t have their big breakthrough until a year later.

Whether it was by luck or judgment that NoFX became a cornerstone of the revival of punk rock in the mainstream with their influence on the next generation of bands being undeniable. Arguably they have been more important to the genre as a whole, as, while many other bands have come and gone, ‘grown up,’ or changed in other ways, NoFX have plowed their own furrow through it all — something like the punk Motörhead.

Certainly they’ve developed as well, particularly in their increasingly political stance across the 2000s, but it’s been on their own terms and Punk In Drublic feels like something of a launching off point for this.

On top of this compared to their contemporaries NoFX have always had a somewhat downbeat streak and this comes back to their approach feeling more based in real life than many of the others and not shying away from a lot issues, even when they get challenging, all of which can be heard here just adding to why this anniversary (as arbitrary as any anniversary really is) is worth marking.