Jinx

With cutting-edge artists such as Sigur Rós and Björk coming out of Iceland, the last thing you'd expect from the remote country is a rap-rock band. Quarashi is straight from the Rage Against the Machine/Beastie Boys school of thought, though there is enough diversity on Jinx to keep things unpredictable. The quartet leans more toward three MCs and one DJ than a hard rock band with rappers and flogging guitars, while beats alternate between drum machine and live percussion. Only occasionally does the band embark into big metal riffs, like on the wild "Copycat." Elsewhere, there are hints of reggae ("Weirdo") and even traces of the band's origin in Iceland ("Tarfur" is the only song with Icelandic vocals). For a band who programs most of its music, Jinx comes across sounding energetically organic. Definitely the kind of testosterone-fueled rock to which kids will want to wreck things. [The clean edition edits any profanity or questionable language.]