The Briggs

Anyone paying attention knows that punk bands are in a Zelig-like state of national confusion. So if Scandinavians can sound like Detroit rockers and the Japanese can capture British hardcore, then what seems so perverse about an L.A. band that embodies Boston street-punk? Maybe it's just our familiarity with American regional stereotypes. In any case, L.A.'s Briggs play compact, traditional punk with the distinctive flavor of baked beans: us-against-the-world populism, craggy singing, ear-grappling hooks, drunken bluster, and the anthemic influence of Stiff Little Fingers and early Oi!. Go figure. And then again, over the course of two full-lengths and last year's EP Leaving the Ways, the quartet, led by brothers Joey and Jason LaRocca, has outshone many of its peers on the Atlantic. So here's to beer and befuddlement.