The Lawrence Arms

Real (and real good) punk rock is a commodity hard to find in popular music these days. Hybrids and watered-down hacks are the way the wind has blown of late, but that’s probably OK with Chicago rockers the Lawrence Arms. Even if they did find themselves on TRL, Brendan Kelly, Neil Hennessy and Chris McCaughan (the collective that is Larry Arms) most likely would just get drunk beforehand and harass the Carson Daly clone du jour. On the band’s latest release, Oh! Calcutta!, tracks like “Are you there Margaret? It’s me, God” and “Jumping the Shark” are shining beacons of the true punk-rock spirit. But trying to pick a favorite track from this solid disc is irrelevant. Bottom line: These guys are damn good, and they haven’t had to sacrifice their integrity to get that way.