The Cops

One can imagine this band's genesis: "Hey, guys," one of them said, "we're a band and we're fuckin' sick of the man. Let's call ourselves the Cops." And just like that, the world's bullshit level decreased by 3 percent. All broken-bottle guitars, dance-tempo punk beats and snotty lyrics, this Seattle five piece is as no-nonsense about rock and roll as the real cops are about macing that innocent drunk wacko going for a beer run on his riding lawnmower (Steve!). The Cops' second full-length, Free Electricity, is loaded with burned and angry gems such as "Light It Off" (think a punk version of Spoon) and "Terribly Empty Pockets" (I owe you somethin'? /I won't pay you!), and it's set to be one of the year's most underrated albums — kind of like you're one of the town's most underrated do-gooders. Fuck off, dude — the Cops don't care.