When did punk become post-punk? The Ex? Mekons? I dunno. That's more of a stupid comment than a profound question. Anyway, Jacob the Horse takes some of the best of those two bands and turns in yet another set of blistering (insert genre here). Some of these are re-recordings of old songs, and after listening to both, it's obvious the new versions are far more alive.

Jacob the Horse At Least It's Almost Over (self-released)

Tuneful, raucous, mean and occasionally almost orchestral (especially in the percussion--that tympani!), Jacob the Horse also channels such fun and profound bands as Gogol Bordello. Actually, that double bill might actually burn down a club. And I'd pay anything to be incinerated on the spot.

I'm enjoying this so much that I can't find a lot to write about. Jacob the Horse has an almost inerrant ability to find the most enticing way to fuse noise and melody within every song, and most of these pieces are upbeat as well. Most albums with too much to say often end up as a pile of polemics. Jacob the Horse has made a party album instead.

As long as the people you party with don't mind having a little socialism (and social justice) thrown at them while they drink their dirty gimlets (and no, I have no idea if that's a thing). Anyway, play it loud, and then play it louder for the old folks upstairs who lost their hearing at DK shows 40 years ago.

Jon Worley