Police & Thieves — Fracturing

Alright, it's that time when we ring in our silly Western notion of the new year (10 days after the solstice? Cause we're astronomically incompetent?) and I'm not really one for long lists. But I can give you a Top One list, so with no further adieu: the year's best album for me is by DC's hardest rockers, Police & Thieves. They've refined the style they had been building in their earlier efforts into something faster, but also more thought-out, more musically varied, even more intelligent. It sort of reminds me of the changes that created In My Eyes' Nothing To Hide LP, although P&T still draw heavily on influences like Dag Nasty. Carlos even get's a little melodic on the vocals a couple times, and I really dig it. Lyrics follow the same trends as before, mixing the personal and political with ease. The guitar work is crunch and precise with cool song structures, and the songs flow one to the next almost perfectly. My personal favorite is "Crusades," but every track on here is a banger. For real, give these dudes a listen.

Police & Thieves — Fracturing LP (2011)

Track Listing:

1. Thieves Intro
2. All Saints
3. Urgency Of Now
4. Suburban Life Decay
5. Doubt Crusades
6. Campaigns
7. Race To The End

Police & Thieves hail from the hallowed grounds of Washington DC, the intellectual inheritors to a musical tradition decades old. Basically, they sound awesome, mixing energy and passion with impressive songwriting and effort. They are, of course, named after the Junior Murvin song, although most people are probably more familiar with the cover the Clash released on their debut album. They've been around for almost 5 years now, with a couple EPs, a new demo, and now this LP. Go see them live.

Get merch and find show dates athttp://www.myspace.com/policethieves, or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Police-Thieves/22668852750