The Alarm

With idealistic spirit, anthemic songs, and a powerhouse live show, the Alarm were part of a wave of bands dealing in a rootsy brand of alternative rock informed by the righteous idealism of punk. The group often worked in an acoustic folk-punk vein that provided a counterpoint to their hard-driving guitar rockers, an era captured on 1984's Declaration. The Alarm had much of the same intensity, ambitions, and spiritualism as U2, and 1987's Eye of the Hurricane and 1989's Change reflected these shared concerns while expanding their audience to the tune of over five million sales worldwide. The group reunited in the late 2010s, and recordings like 2021's WAЯ (also issued in 2022 as Omega) confirmed their anthemic sound had not faded with time, while leader Mike Peters offered a look into his personal strength with 2023's Forwards, written while he was in treatment for leukemia and pneumonia.