A Rooster for the Masses – Gallo Rojo * * * *

Raleigh’s own A Rooster For The Masses is back with its new EP, “Gallo Rojo.” Five politically charged songs featuring disco-like bass beats, twanging guitars and catchy synth lines give you something to dance to while no one’s watching and think about at the same time. Alex Eckhardt’s rantings and ravings on immigration, national security and the war in Iraq have him sounding like a blend between Morrissey and Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock. Having Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s quote about how “As you know, you go to war with the army you have…” all while shouting about “the American way” and detailing a particular soldier’s journey of how he “got sent over so proud” but then “got sent home in a box,” certainly solidifies Eckhardt and gang’s position about the current goings on in the Middle East. “Left Coast” makes a case for immigrant workers, calling their exploitment “modern slavery” in how they “do the dirty work,” all over danceable beats. Overall, “Gallo Rojo” is a good listen that will get you nodding along and scratching your head in thought at the same time.