Who: Soulful Brit-pop quintet (with a horn section) who originally bonded over Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits while growing up in a tiny English town, but soon developed a taste for reggae, ska, rockabilly and harmonies.

Sounds Like: The group's debut EP Alarm Clock is stocked with tightly wound tunes featuring horn rave-ups and ska rhythms that take cues from British 2-Tone groups such as Madness and the Specials, as well as Dexys Midnight Runners.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Frontman Charlie Waller often writes about his small-town British upbringing, from the dead-end day jobs to simply walking around the neighborhood. "I'm just singing about everyday things," he says. "I try to think like Jonathan Richman and write songs that you can't tell if they're clever or quite stupid and childlike."

1. The push and pull between Waller's pop sensibility and his bandmates' punk leanings is evident on tracks like "Cowboy," a lilting rockabilly tune that kicks into a ferocious anthem. "Bands were doing punky stuff in London" when he was growing up, Waller explains. "Everyone was screaming. And all I cared about was sweet harmonies."

2. "Cowboy" is a highlight from the group's forthcoming full-length Girls and Weather, a record that captures Waller's early days living in a small town and working as a house painter. "Sometimes I miss being a laborer and having a job that's physical and easy," he says. "But then I'dd think 'What was I thinking? That job was shit! Being in a band is so much better than that."

Get It: Alarm Clock is available in stores and tracks can be heard on the Rumble Strips' MySpace (*Girls and Weather* is due early next year). Click above to check out the video for "Alarm Clock."

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