Musically blending crusty hardcore punk, ska, and some tongue-in-cheek death metal influences, New York punk's Leftöver Crack are best described in terms of their unapologetically leftist rabble-rousing politics. Their anti-police, anti-racism, and anti-homophobia stance was firmly established on albums like 2001's Mediocre Generica and 2004's Fuck World Trade, which they surrounded by a host of singles, EPs, and splits for labels like Hellcat, HellBent, and Fat Wreck Chords. Following a lengthy hiatus peppered with occasional live appearances, Leftöver Crack returned in 2015 with their third full-length, the politically charged Constructs of the State. Leftöver Crack formed in 2000 as their parent band, Choking Victim, was breaking up. The group is based around a core lineup of singer, songwriter, and instigator Stza (Scott Sturgeon), guitarist Ezra Kire, and bassist Alec Baille, with a revolving-door drum stool that has included J.P. Otto, Brandon Possible, and Ara Babajian, who splits his time between Leftöver Crack and his own more traditional ska-punk group, the Slackers. After a self-released demo, Shoot the Kids at School, came out in 2000, Leftöver Crack made their vinyl debut with the Rock the 40 Oz. EP on the Bankshot label, followed by the full-length albums Mediocre Generica on Hellcat and Fuck World Trade on Alternative Tentacles. (Mediocre was originally titled Shoot the Kids at School, complete with cover art depicting the title literally, but Hellcat forced the band to change both the name and artwork. The band left the label after its release.) After Possible died of a drug overdose in 2004, Leftöver Crack split temporarily. Regrouping the following year with Babajian on drums and Brad Logan (aka Brad Minus from the California pop-punks F-Minus) on second guitar, the band began touring and released Deadline, a 2007 split album with Citizen Fish, via Fat Wreck. Over the next few years, Leftöver Crack became less and less active as members focused on other projects, namely Stza's band Star Fucking Hipsters and Ezra's Morning Glory. Ezra left the band, publicly feuding with Stza, only to temporarily join up again for a handful of shows in 2010. Five years later, in late 2015, Leftöver Crack reemerged with their long-awaited third full-length album. Released by Fat Wreck, Constructs of the State featured a revamped lineup based around Stza and Baille with guitarist Chris Mann and drummer Donny, both from the band Introsp3ct, second guitarist Brad Logan, and singer Kate Coysh. In 2018, a 30-track collection of "E-sides and F-sides" called Leftover Leftöver Crack was released. ~ Stewart Mason & Timothy Monger