(International) Noise Conspiracy

With its matching uniforms, whippersnapper backbeats and chicken-greased six-strings, Sweden's (International) Noise Conspiracy could be any of a dozen Euro-rock outfits on the market today. But you don't have to listen too deeply to (I)NC's lyrics to realize that the quintet's agenda includes a lot more than rump shaking. KRS-One dubbed this marriage of pedagogy and rhythm "edutainment," and (I)NC makes it sound like Gang of Four channeling Karl Marx.

The title track -- culled from the quintet's 2001 full-length A New Morning, Changing Weather -- is the EP's lone previously released number; the remainder is spring-fresh material, including a swanky cover of N.E.R.D.'s "Baby Doll." Musically, the emphasis is on white-boy funk, peppered with stuttering snare breaks, slash-and-burn guitar blasts and horns so horny they sound like they were double-dipped in Viagra.

Vocalist Dennis Lyxzen doesn't possess the world's greatest voice, but his fevered-yet-detached style works perfectly when delivering lines such as Downsizing and profitizing will affect our way to think ... Spend our lives on banalities. The liner notes include all the lyrics plus a helpful reading list of politically progressive literature. The disc also contains five videos, the best of which features excerpts from a speech given by author and cultural critic Noam Chomsky, who decries the U.S. government's role in international terrorism. Given the current political climate, Chomsky's message couldn't be more urgent or more prescient, reaffirming the notion that the (I)NC's members are rebels with both a clue and a cause.