Rise Against - Prayer of the Refugee

Pick of the Week 12 - Rise Against

I saw Rise Against at the Leeds Festival last year and in a sea of mediocrity they stood out for their passion, work ethic and down-to-earth-ness. I wasn't that impressed by their music at the time, but they've really grown on me since, to the point where I may actually have to buy one of their albums. They seem to be really cool guys, they're politically vocal and overtly support all manner of humanitarian and animal rights causes and this filters through into their musical output. They're hardly obscure with considerable success in the States, but deserve greater coverage in the UK compared to the avalanche of publicity for the likes of Green Day. This is an upbeat, shouty little number that extols the virtues of fair trade and warns of the exploitation of workers in the US and across the world. I like it more every time I hear it and only wish I'd paid more attention at Bramham Park.