Judah and the Lion, Colony House, Tall Heights

The first thing that crosses your mind when listening to Judah and the Lion is how the hell you’d even begin describe their sound. Each new track seems to contradict the one that came before it, but that’s by design: The title of their most recent LP, Folk Hop n’ Roll, seems to confirm it. You’ll hear a distinct banjo or mandolin hook paired with the anthemic sing-along choruses of contemporary folk-pop, but it’s often run through a white-boy hip-hop filter, and the band’s latest single “Going to Mars (!)” continues to doubles down on their recent electro-pop dabblings. That blend can come across as a little goofy — “How could these disparate genres possibly fit together?” you may be thinking, and sometimes they don’t coalesce seamlessly — but it’s catchy and good natured, and they result in the kind of songs that could become irresistible when you’re in the middle of a crowd that knows every word.