Protest music for a new era

In the years since the invasion of Iraq, critics have occasionally complained about the dearth of protest music today. But it's out there -- it just doesn't sell well or get much mainstream airplay (you can decide which leads to which). And after digging around a little, you'll find modern music that could easily hold its own against what your boomer parents listened to -- including the two albums by The Evens.\nThe Evens are comprised of Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina -- and any punks not familiar with the former best trade in their facial piercings for popped collars. Having vented his spleen in the high-speed blast of Minor Threat, and the more oblique and sophisticated (but still noisy) Fugazi, MacKaye takes a different track with Farina -- the two make stripped-down, melodic, slightly-folky pop with lyrics that will, nevertheless, melt the face off anyone in their crosshairs. And if The Evens' self-titled debut was a heat lamp, Get Evens is a laser. The band's sound has been further simplified to a raw combination of guitar strums, judicious drumming and interchanging male-female vocals that could be performed anywhere from a local open-mic-night to a street-corner demonstration. It's beautiful. \nBut then this is teamed with lyrics like "How do people sleep amidst the slaughter?" ("Cut From The Cloth"), "You and yours and all your wars have run your last campaign -- you're FIRED!" ("Everyone Knows"), "You must be insaaaane" (repeated seven times in "All You Find You Keep") -- and the whole of the devilishly funny "Dinner with the President," where MacKaye and Farina ask why, despite being D.C. neighbors, they never get invited over to the White House. \nThe album's only real shortcoming is that it could benefit from a more personal touch -- it reels off a bit like a laundry-list of progressive gripes. But if your winter of discontent needs a soundtrack, consider warming yourself by The Evens' fire.