The Audition

Not since Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off have suburban Chicago teens enjoyed so much attention. Case in point: Wilmette's Fall Out Boy, McHenry's Alkaline Trio and the Audition, whose emo-tinged, 'burb-blastin' pop-punk earned it a place on this summer's Warped Tour alongside Victory Records labelmates Spitalfield and Aiden. There's nothing here you wouldn't expect, either live or on the band's latest offering, Controversy Loves Company, but these guys have all of the energy and melodic command of top-tier contemporaries such as Rise Against. Give 'em a few months of touring and a guest appearance on a CW show, and they have a clear shot at busting out as a household name.