When folk singers dropped the ball – or, you could say, when listeners dropped folk singers – it was the rockers who picked it up. Now everyone from U2 to Sublime has a political song in their arsenal.

Voodoo Loons takes that to a new level with their album Euphobia. Though only one song on the album is listed as “the unabashedly political song” most of the songs have political overtones. And, unafraid to rock, the band mostly succeeds in disguising their intentions long enough to get your head banging – and thinking about their message.

Take “Paranoia,” for example. Without ever losing track of the hook that catches their listener fishes – the powerful chords (but not power chords), rough beat and fierce energy of the song –Voodoo Loons reaches down and unwraps the part of the brain where you keep your fear. Not those strange fears of spiders or men’s ties, but the perfectly normal fear of government, of conspiracy, of being in the dark. “They were tapping my phones...reading my emails...I stepped outside my house and noticed that everybody was wearing the same shoes. They were wearing the same shoes,” moans lead singer Dennis O’Hagan, while the music rumbles and sputters, perfectly capturing the lurking terror of a society of Nike-inspired automatons.

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Whether you’re on board with their message or not, Voodoo Loons’ grungy hard rock will surely hook you. Be afraid of the government, by all means. But do not fear the rock.

Favorite Track: “Paranoia (Acting Suspicious)”