The Briefs

For the past seven years, the Briefs have been juicing Seattle's mopey indie-rock ass with a steroid shot of '77-style punk rock, and the fun's spreading. The quartet pledges its allegiance to forebears such as the Ramones, the Buzzcocks, the Vibrators, and the Rezillos. The sound's fast and aggressive but not brutal, snarky but not grouchy, loony but not asinine, and it's mixed with appreciation for catchy new-wavey pop melodies.

Rarely seen without their goofy shades and skinny ties, guitarists Steve E. Nix and Daniel J. Travanti, drummer Chris Brief, and bassist Stevie Kicks all sing, offering vocals spat, sneered, hiccuped, and occasionally delivered in faux British accents, with plenty of backing "whoaaaaa-ooohs" and chanting choruses. Their pogo-friendly blasts center on being poor, being weird, having crabs, and getting new shoes and socks. "We just wanna get people jumping up and down, and having a good time," says Nix. "When it's really energetic like that, we can just concentrate on being dumb-ass entertainers and having fun."