Socialist Leisure Party

by Margaret Reges
Former Action Painting! members Andy Hitchcock and Kevin House teamed up with Axel Amicabile and Julien Kokot to form Socialist Leisure Party in 2006. A fiery, jangly indie pop ensemble, shot through with psychedelic noise and arch lyrics (delivered in a deadpan, nasal caterwaul by frontman Hitchcock), Socialist Leisure Party welcomed comparisons to old-school acts like Orange Juice, Josef K, and the Cure. The band was eventually brought on board by the Oregon-based label Shelflife, and its debut EP, Tactical Pop! For Coffee Cadets, came out on that label in the spring of 2009.