The Andrew Jackson Jihad are the best folk punk band out right now.
Reminiscent of The Mountain Goats (another band you really should listen to) Andrew Jackson Jihad write songs full of whit and charm about politics and love which will at times crack you up or have you in tears.
Every song of their songs has at least one of those "oh... thats a clever lyric" moment in them.
Eg. Personal Space Invader's
How can you put that stuff up your nose When you know how coke is manufactured, It's made by children for the immature, It's made by babies who've been captured.
Therefore i really recommend downloading the album's Can't Maintain and People That Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World this instant as i can only find the live versions of their songs on youtube and such. However, the live versions are still brilliant.
A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit:
Here is Personal Space Invader:
People:
So there you go. Have a good listen to these albums, they will keep you consumed for a few weeks. I assure it!
The Maccabees are both as underrated as you can be, and as good as indie rock gets. Just like the band got their name by randomly selecting a word out of the bible, i found about these guys during a random conversation with my friend Callum.
The album "Colour It In" is filled to the absolute brim with catchy riffs and melodies. It's one of those albums you can just press play and tap your foot to the whole way through.
Freelance Whales are a band i never thought i would like. I don't know why, maybe it was the fact that their debut album Weathervanes was too well produced and highly polished for my liking. Maybe it was a hesitation at the use of synth effects on the album or it could have been because i just didn't like the "post emo" label attached to the band.
Either way, after listening to the album from start to finish i realised that Weathervanes was probably the most underrated album of 2010. It's more indie pop then post-emo, however i can see the resemblance to the original emo bands of the 90's and 00's. Perhaps the best way to describe them is Postal Service goes Folk.
A strange but intriguing blend of folk and synth instruments combine to make a compelling album. The harmonies are superb and so are the lyrics. The hooks in this album will grab from the moment you hear them and grow every listen after. Have a listen to these two tracks, but its really worth listening to the album through.
If you like indie pop songs with great hooks then Freelance Whales will do it for you.
