Best Punk/Garage Act in Providence

The Jesse Minute

The Jesse Minute lock it up for the third straight year, flying high off a busy 2010 that included two releases, This Happened . . . Live at AS220 and Shut Up and Play, the follow-up to Do or Die (all three available at 75orlessrecords.com). The band recently reshuffled the lineup a bit, but the big pipes and infectious stage presence of singer Missa Hills (known to all by her first name) remain intact, and Shut Up and Play cuts "I'm Not Fine" and "Scratcher" reveal a band ready to pin the throttle, while radio-ready single "Left Behind" sounds like Velocity Girl at 80-mph, and metalheads can snap a neck to the speedy riffs on "Rally" and "Pancake." But "Cinnamon" is the showstopper here. TJM is one of the hardest-working bands on the live circuit; check thejesseminute.com for tour dates across the Northeast.

Runners-up
2. The diePods
3. Prayers for Atheists
4. This Is a Movement

by PHOENIX STAFF

The Jesse Minute