"Pop punk" is an apt tag for what Ted Leo does with his band, the Pharmacists. He infuses punk songs with chunky hooks and choruses. Unfortunately, "pop-punk" calls to mind bratty, throwaway Warped Tour acts -- and Ted Leo ain't Yellowcard. He's a modern keeper of the original punk flame: a fiery, passionate, political voice with Fugazi-level punk ethics.
At 40 years old and with six full-lengths, Leo is officially a veteran, but his latest, The Brutalist Bricks, possesses the vigor and hunger of a debut. Leo yelps earnestly about social justice over jangly guitars and breakneck drums, skipping the stuffy preaching in favor of old-fashioned fun. He may never get a medal from the government, but he deserves one.
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