State Radio

Fronted by nature and political activist Chad Stokes, Massachusetts’s State Radio is a band that carry a message in their heavy groove. Taking up the plight of the common worker, a man struggling to look after his dying wife on a starvation salary, and disheartened disenfranchised folk everywhere, State Radio manage to make weighty lyrics go down smooth. Rock, punk and reggae are the prime musical touchstones on Us Against the Crown, forming an instantly likeable cross between 311 and Counting Crows, thanks in part to Stokes’ ability to spin a melody like Adam Duritz. "Gunship Politico,” a chilling tale of police violence, stands out as one of the strongest tracks.