Los Salvadores - Attack of the Clones

For someone who learned to slam dance to The Pogues' Irish Rover, the link between folk and punk has always seemed very clear, but Los Salvadores push it as a unique selling point - their album emblazoned with the slogan "is folk punk our only hope?" Seeing as punk has adapted itself to the 21st century by fusing with all manner of genres including Balkan beats, hip-hop and drum'n'bass (see Cot Death's amazing Digital Cacophony of Global Decay) so the prospect of banjo-led punk by itself might not get too many people excited. The songs are good and strong although maybe too far into the generic punk style for a lot of curiosity seekers; although the flourishes of banjo raise a cheeky smile and there are great moments where they sound like a more electrically inclined Levellers. Folk punk certainly isn't our only hope, but it'll do for a wee slam boogie. [Ali Maloney]