Flobots

This politically and socially conscious hip-hop collective from Denver hit big in April with its song "Handlebars," off its second album, Fight With Tools. The tune tackles topics like gas-guzzling SUVs, corporate greed, and nuclear holocausts within the framework of a melody that could've been cribbed from playground sing-alongs. The rest of Fight With Tools is similarly informed and eloquent, with strings lifting songs like "Mayday!!!" and infectious bass lines boosting optimistic spoken-word grooves like "We Are Winning." Live shows are nothing short of a fully instrumental thought-party, with horns and guitars and dance beats providing a backbone for Flobots' philosophies about war, charity, and cultural subservience.