Fire Drills at Bender's Tavern

In an era when we've all been hit over the head once too often with pop punk, a band like the Fire Drills (due at Bender's Tavern on Saturday, May 30) can superficially sound like a continuation of that sort of thing. Except with this band, the most cursory of listens makes it obvious that there's more than a taste of the power pop of bands like the Jam, Stiff Little Fingers and Buzzcocks floating about the Fire Drills' driving choruses and introspective verses — which is to say there's plenty of punk-rock energy and bite to the music, but there's also a good deal more nuance and a richer palette than you get with the average pop-punk act. Sure, angst over the usual rock-and-roll complaints informs the music, but intelligence and introspection stream underneath absolute conviction.