(self-released) www.theweatherundergroundband.com

If naming their band after a group of late ‘60s radical revolutionaries wasn’t precocious enough, the Weather Underground’s decision to open their Bird in the Hand EP with their own Guatemalan worker anthem sung entirely in Spanish shows that this Los Angeles-based quartet is far more ambitious than your typical, run-of-the-Net indie rockers. “Fight Song for the Desolojos” is the real deal, a wonderful, waltzing opener driven by a jangling guitar line, circus sideshow accordion and thundering kick drum that perfectly complements frontman Harley Prechtel-Cortez’s grandiose, operatic vocals. “All Ye People” begins as a delicate ballad before exploding into a soulful, gospel-tent-style rave up, but the centerpiece of the record is the “Sparrows in Boyle Heights”/“Bird in the Hand” suite, a dark rumination on the flimsy nature of personal identity. With Bird in the Hand — their third EP released in the last calendar year — The Weather Underground shows there’s no need to go shakin’ the bush.

Standout tracks: “Fight Song for the Desolojos,” “All Ye People” ANDY TENNILLE