Coastal city Southport, N.C., seems an unlikely home for a noisy and prolific pop-punk band. Yet it's in this tourist destination that Museum Mouth drummer and vocalist Karl Kuehn writes his infectious odes to frustrated boredom and small-town stagnation. This year's Sexy But Not Happy drew praise from Punknews.org and regular love from Alternative Press—respectable buzz, especially for a band from a town with no venues. Memorable choruses and punk-rock tempos match Kuehn's remarkable lyrical imagery. On Sexy's title track, he sings "There's no company here, only hollow men/ but that's not why we came/ fevered palms and sickly waves." Museum Mouth opens for Ascetic Parade and Departures. —Corbie Hill