The (Finally) PopNarcotic Top 20 Of 2009 (Cont.)

19. The Idle Hands,
The Hearts We Broke On The Way To The Show

This Minneapolis band comes by its UK postpunk feel naturally--they're led by two Irish ex-pat brothers, Ciaran and Criostoir Daly. The group comes up with a perfect mix of the jaggedy, squawky postpunk of contemporaries like The Fratellis or Arctic Monkeys...but with a heartland sense of melodic hooks. In other words, they're guilty of all the good sins and few of the bad choices that plague that particular genre; these folks know that the once you've wound your song into a corner, the best way to find your way out isn't to resort to cheap gim-crackery, but instead to pull out a middle-eight like they do on "Sunshine On The Tenements" or the ridiculously catchy/clunky guitar riff on "Liver And Brains". Is this music a little too obvious? Maybe...but you know you're cranking the song "Loaded" up and air guitaring around your room when no one's looking.

"Loaded"
"Sunshine On The Tenements"
"Liver And Brains"

The PopNarcotic Top 20 of 2009:
19. The Idle Hands, The Hearts We Broke On The Way To The Show
20. The Pretty Things With Phillippe DeBarge, S/T