Teen rock band Population 5 crank out a big sound that's savvy beyond their years, like the title of the opening track on their debut album Descendants of Billy—it's called "Thank God for Science." They sport an enviably big sound and lush, crisp production. "Virgin Birth of Sympathy" sounds like they've been listening to The Strokes. But influences only go so far.

Thirteen-year-old songwirter Sam Griffin-Ortiz was a finalist in the 2009 International Songwriting Competition for "Dream," a 6-minute ballad that starts off like a military funeral march on mushrooms and swells into an anthem with cutting lyrics ("I'm scared straight cuz I got no fear...Got an empty life Jesus can't save...Bobby's little dream home with the blood spot on the floor") that make you scratch your head and ask, "A 13-year-old wrote that?"

"Run Away," sung with deadpan rock ennui by Emma Griffin-Ortiz shreds like Lenny Kravitz jamming with Zep and Queens of the Stone Age. When she chimes in on Sam's songs with her counterpoint harmony, it conjures Exene and John Doe from X. Nevermind that they're kids, though it's an intriguing novelty, these youngsters just plain rock.