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Blue Cheer, "What Doesn't Kill You . . ." (Rainman Records/Shout Factory)

Forty-two years into their career, this San Francisco power trio is still going strong, as evinced on this release, the band's first new studio album since 1991.

This is a throwback/flashback to '60s hard rock in all its psychedelic, metal, grunge and garage glory. The group includes original members Dickie Peterson on bass and vocals and drummer Paul Whaley; guitarist Andrew "Duck" McDonald has been an off-and-on member for 20 years.

The new CD seems like a time capsule: funky, wah-wah slide guitar ("Piece o' the Pie"); tribal drumming heavy on the tom-toms ("Rollin' Dem Bones"); and Peterson's rough throaty vocals that sound almost painful to get the words out (most of the tunes).

Highlights include the slow-burning blues of "No Relief" and the psychedelic sludge of "I'm Gonna Get to You." The guys take a detour on "Young Lions in Paradise," a country-tinged slow jam, i.e., ballad, but recover nicely with a cover of Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign," where they funk it up by slowing it down.

Blue Cheer rocks the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave., at 8:30 p.m. Monday. SuperGiant opens the 21-and over show. $10 at the door or at Launchpad. 764-8887.

The Color Fred, "Bend to Break" (Equal Vision Records)

The Color Fred is the nom de musique of ex-Taking Back Sunday guitarist/co-vocalist Fred Mascherino, who left the group after fulfilling its commitments on the Projekt Revolution tour in the fall. To say some of the cuts sound like his former band is an understatement ("Get Out").

This is mostly a solo effort — Mascherino wrote all the songs and played guitar and bass on them. It's loud, infectious power pop with emo lyrics and themes that deal mostly with some type of loss (relationship angst and compromise on "If I Surrender"; breaking up on "Hate to See You Go"; and the betrayal and heartbreak of "Don't Pretend"). This guy wears his heart on his sleeve; it all sounds honest and heartfelt.

And it appears there's a bit of acrimony still lingering about, as well. "Complaintor" sounds like a kiss-off to his former band, while "Minnesota" likewise seems to be a dig at Taking Back Sunday and mimics a lyric off its song "MakeDamnSure."

The Color Fred — touring as a trio with P.J. Bond on bass and Steve Curtiss on drums — headlines an all-ages show Tuesday at the Launchpad. Old Man Shattered, Your Name in Lights and Coma Recovery open. 7 p.m. $10 at the door or at TicketSpin.com.

The Blakes, "The Blakes" (Light in the Attic)

Stop me if you'd heard this one before: Two vagabond brothers — Snow and Garnet Keim — walk into a Seattle coffeehouse and end up forming a band with the barista who served them (that's the short version).

The fruit of their labors is this debut CD of funky, propulsive, beat-heavy music with a garage-rock fury (think the Strokes before they went soft). It has the swagger of that group with in-your-face vocals (the cracking and screaming "Two Times"). The songs are short, sharp, hooky and quirky with a retro-cool vibe ("Don't Bother Me" is two chords and a rush).

On a couple songs, they sound like the Kinks in training ("Commit" and "Lie Next to Me"), or She Wants Revenge (the sinister love song "Vampire"). They get wistful on "Lint Walk," while the repetitive "Don't Want That Now" is punchy and catchy.

Magic Bullets, "A Child but in Life Yet a Doctor in Love" (Words on Music)

This San Francisco sextet's forte is an atonal, minimalist swirling sound of guitars and keys akin to early Smiths or Gang of Four, which is only accentuated by vocalist Philip Benson's very droll affected British accent.

Opener "Yesterday's Seen Better Days" sounds like some lost Smiths and/or Morrissey tune, while a twin-guitar jangle compels "Circumstances." In the bio, the guys say the disc is "a Valentine to post-punk" and they deliver it with a cinematic scope (the Wurlizter-fueled "Heatstroke" with its minor-key progressions).

Lyrically, they are quite literate, as on "Short Circuit": "My stare was there but my words were somewhere else/Reading faces can be a tricky thing"; and "Spent Nights": I know how stubborn you can be/It comes with the territory/A couple of broken hearts/And you think it's some conspiracy."

The music on "Child" at once sounds familiar yet somewhat new, and Benson's majestic vocals lift this above the mundane.

The Blakes and Magic Bullets are on a co-headlining tour that stops at the Launchpad on Wednesday. The Dirty Novels open at 8 p.m. $5. 21 and over only.

Vampire Weekend, "Vampire Weekend" (XL Recordings, out Tuesday)

On its full-length debut, this New York City quartet of Columbia University grads lives up to the hype being gushed upon them as the scenesters du jour. The music is well-mannered, preppy and a bit fey ("Mansard Roof") rooted in the fingerpicking feel of Afropop, and serves as a travelogue as much as a musical primer of world music ("Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa").

It's breezy and New Wavey: "Oxford Comma," about the joys of punctuation, and "One (Blake's Got a New Face)" spiked with reggae, as well as reggaeton.

They can be self-referential (most of the tunes, including "Bryn," "Campus" and "Walcott") while exuding an overall party vibe. This is like an update of the classical/world music stylings Joe Jackson pioneered in the mid- to late '80s.

Bullet for My Valentine, "Scream Aim Fire" (20-20/Jive/Sony BMG, out Tuesday)

The Welsh heavy metal punks deliver the goods on their sophomore release, which was recorded last year at the Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, near El Paso. These guys excel at their chosen genre, and the musicianship is top-flight, especially drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas and guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget.

This is melodic metal-core with partial pop elements — catchy, hook-filled choruses (the title track's "Over the top, over the top/Right now it's killing time/Over the top, over the top/The only way out is to die"). The vocals are mostly sung with some growling and screaming (the pummeling "Waking The Demon," the punishing "Deliver Us From Evil" and the thrashing bruiser "Last To Know").

However, there's a softer side to BFMV as evinced on "Tears Don't Fall" from their debut; "Say Goodnight" is this year's soft ballad. And there are two hard-and-heavy, arena-ready love songs: "Hearts Burst Into Fire" and "Forever and Always," with the refrain: "Should it all come crashing down around me/Would you be there should I stumble and fall/And pick up the pieces."

Bullet for My Valentine is the main stage headliner for the coming "Taste of Chaos 2008" tour. The traveling rock show begins Feb. 29 in Denver, with a stop April 6 in El Paso. Go to "Taste of Chaos 2008" for more info.