The Futureheads

With a million young bands all citing the same post-punk records as their main inspiration, the Futureheads have found a niche for themselves by working from the same building blocks and creating something that rings truer than the rest. The first thing that comes to mind is that the band sound a lot like XTC did in their earliest days. Once you get past that, you can hear that they've got their own songs and ideas worming their way through this jagged, explosive, tight and highly tuneful concoction. The fact that all four members take on vocal duties and engage in some twisted harmonies and vocal trade-offs that are nearly dizzying also help bring the band into their own.