Though largely unknown, Kansas City’s Starkweathers were among the best ND bands around. As fans of both Merle Haggard and Joe Strummer, frontman Rich Smith and bassist Mike Ireland sang unironically, in gorgeous Louvin Brothers-styled harmonies, about the lives and loves of America’s dispossessed. At their finest – Ireland’s mournful “Danny Taylor” from their Faye Records 5-Song EP, or Smith’s prayerful “Little White Trash Boy” on Bloodshot’s Hellbent compilation –the Starkweathers combined a lefty vision with an unabashedly twangy rock ‘n’ roll.

Read more about The Starkweathers on Last.fm.