Poster Children: RTFM

It can't be easy to capture the glorious essence of Poster Children's act on the cold, sterile surface of a compact disc: The Champaign, Illinois-based band plays futuristic, tongue-in-cheek, new-wavey rock that's bursting with big guitars and relentless energy. The group's live shows are about as fun as live shows can get—every one is packed with shout-along choruses, showers of sweat and animated stage posturing—and damned if Poster Children's new RTFM ("Read The Fucking Manual") doesn't amply capture the immensely entertaining spectacle. The guitars are big and brash in the best possible way, the drums set your knees bouncing, and the lyrics are great: "The music of America comes through my radio / singing songs made of the finest platinum and gold / Blasting 50,000 watts of AM/FM trash / recycled every hour and converted into cash." The fact that Poster Children's 1995 album Junior Citizen wasn't a worldwide smash remains a great musical tragedy; don't let RTFM meet the same fate.