Headsticks have been shaking their tail feathers for some time now, and so together with STP records they have put together this ten-year anniversary retrospective album. Ten Years Without Killing Each Other ollects 15 of their crowd-pleasers, freshly re-recorded.

Musically, Headsticks sit comfortably between various stools. It gives them the advantage of being at home in various surroundings. I’ve seen them live at a gig with GBH, they are festival favourites and recently completed a tour with Steve Ignorant which gives you an idea of the crowds they can keep happy. Although rooted in folk-punk, their sound goes way beyond that.

Take the bare-bones of that genre, add in some rockabilly-inspired twanging guitars and that rolling snare-driven drumbeat, then sprinkle a generous helping of ska-punk into the mix. If it is a musical melting-pot of styles, the one common ground is the tradition of the protest song. For centuries, lyricists and musicians have used their art to express discontent and frustration. Headsticks excel at their art, offering music and words for the heart and mind alike. Tom Chapman