Yes I agree. They were distinctly different from the other bands considered Punk Rock. Heh... you could perhaps call them Progressive Punk if you read my closing for my post yesterday on Progressive Rock then why I say that makes more sense.

Progressive really just means they are not beholden to one style, and live free, and mingle and merge whatever interests them. The second word simply tells you the common style they tend to return to the most often.

So perhaps Progressive Punk. They never go quite to the technical extremes Progressive Rock acts tended to, I definitely can hear some Prog flavoring in The Clash. That might actually be a big part of why they appeal to me. I tend to really love Progressive acts regardless of what type of genre the root in.