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Pearlene, "For Western Violence and Brief Sensuality" (High and Dangerous Records)

Reuben Glaser, vocalist for this Cincinnati quartet, has a classic-rock voice that's perfectly suited to the '70s rock feel of his band's third full-length.

He sings of love ("Numbers") and redemption ("We All Get Off") with a bloozy country soul vibe reminiscent of the Rolling Stones' country jones and of redemption through discovery like the Grateful Dead's country inclinations ("Hosannah").

Betrayal rears its head on "Watch the Way," a Southern rock psychedelic blues piece pumped up by a spectral organ vamp. A bowed saw provides a haunting quality to "I Hate the Blues," a cover of the Dead Moon tune. On the electric blue stomp "All Fears (Have Faces)," Glaser's echoey vocals sound just like Jimi Hendrix.

There's a classic-rock feel to the proceedings, but the motifs are grounded in the now. The nine-minute-plus "High and Dangerous" sounds like a Crazy Horse guitar jam as it deals with modern-day crises, such as xenophobia, pollution and war. Things mellow at the end with the acoustic blues lullaby "The Shot."

Over the course of just less than an hour, these guys prove the blues are eternal.

Pearlene is joined by backing vocalists Beth Harris and Kristen Kreft for a free show Sunday at Atomic Cantina, 315 Gold Ave. S.W. Paperwork opens at 9 p.m. 21 and over. 242-2200.

Interpol, "Our Love to Admire" (Capitol Records)

On its third studio release, this New York City four-piece still has a Joy Division fixation — trancelike music and repetitive constructs — but they're also (just a little) more upbeat. Paul Banks' baritone still defines the group's signature sound.

An upfront piano and chiming guitar herald the dirgelike "Pioneer to the Falls." It's brooding and downbeat, but there are glimmers of love's hope as the singer contemplates his condition. This carries over to the hopeful "No I in Threesome," where he pleads, "Just let us be free tonight."

There is big sound and big ambition (the cacophonous loud-soft-loud-softer "Wrecking Ball") with a grudging optimism ("All Fired Up," a slice of the dark side of NYC inhabited by hipsters, tricksters and hucksters). But before you get all gushy, there's the brooding, pessimistic love song "Pace is the Trick."

"How are things on the West Coast?" Banks intones on the single "The Heinrich Maneuver," a tactical pop song that ends with, "Today . . . my heart . . . swings." They're all the better for it, and so are we. "Rest My Chemistry" is a sweet backhanded, on-the-verge-of-being pop song that the bandmates resist all the way.

The disc ends with "The Lighthouse." Its disjointed staccato guitar chords and disembodied vocals preserve and enhance the mystique and aura Interpol has been creating for the past seven years. This is a welcomed return after a three-year recording hiatus spent touring.

Gore Gore Girls, "Get the Gore" (Bloodshot Records)

Taking their name from the 1972 grind house classic, this female Detroit foursome is a throwback to the '60s: garage revivalist with a mixture of girl group, go-go and punk attitude. They achieve their sound with dual hollow-body Gretsch guitars.

Most of the songs are rave-ups ("Fox in a Box," "Casino"), romps ("Loaded Heart") or stomps (the excellent "Voodoo Doll") that adhere to a three-chord philosophy.

An impressive cover version of Phil Spector's "All Grown Up" is classic girl group that sounds like the Runaways.

Girl power comes to the fore on "Pleasure Unit" and the psychedelic anthem "Mary Ann." There's also punk thrash ("So Sophisticated"), garage soul ("Little Baby") and R&B garage ("Sweet Potato").

Despite a hint of trashy allure, these women are supremely confident in their sexuality; so, you'd better watch out.