Kilkenny Cats

Although their origins in Athens, Georgia and appearance in the Inside/Out film could suggest sonic overlap with local peers such as R.E.M. and Pylon, Kilkenny Cats carved a modestly distinct path. The resemblance nevertheless carries more weight than not, since frontman Tom Cheek and his bandmates infused alternative music’s rustic tendencies with additional characteristics. They first surfaced in 1984 via the single “Attractive Figure,” then issued their proper debut Hands Down on Coyote Records two years afterward. Hammer proved both their final and strongest album, even as bassist Sean O’Brien resurfaced years later in Boston alongside Come.