Labor Force

Labor Force's . . . True to the Blue starts with the sound of a factory whistle, and the Rubber City quartet promptly gets to work on a model of low-fi street punk, turning out a half-hour shift of anthemic guitar leads, holler-along choruses, and lyrics about loving the union and hating debt collectors. As many of the Oi! greats have, frontman Mikey Pain, the disc's foreman, delivers orders in a semi-British inflection that keeps his melodies on track. He has impressively nimble pipes, and the rest of the workers keep up with him on speedy sing-alongs like "The Enemy." Any dues spent supporting this crew would be money well spent.