Entertainment

THAT’S THE TICKET!

* THE VON BONDIES “Pawn Shoppe Heart” [] Sire (four stars)

Comparisons between the Von Bondies and the White Stripes are inevitable.

Both bands are from Detroit. Both have a distinct love of blues-based Zeppelin-rock.

And Jack White of the Stripes and singer Jason Stollsteimer of Von Bondies used to be great pals. That is, until last December, when an insulted White beat Stollsteimer to a pulp at a Detroit club and was later arrested for aggravated assault.

Both bands are very good – but the Von Bondies are better.

Since the Von Bondies are a two-boy/two-girl quartet and everybody sings – the Stripes’ vocals are all created by Jack – the vocal interplay has more depth and can handle plain old harmony as well as call-and-response choruses.

You hear that best on songs like “Not That Social,” “Crawl Through the Darkness” and “The Fever.”

As the riffs unfold on the band’s major-label debut, it’s plain the Detroit outfit is declaring its allegiance to rock with Lizard King rambles, Janis Joplin vocal urgency, girl-group harmonies and the nirvana of angst-infused grunge.

The disc takes its title from the love-stinks anthem “Pawn Shoppe Heart” – a blues bruiser tagged onto the end of the disc. But even without that number, the name fits the collection for the myriad rock references.

You can’t discount the influence of ex-Talking Head turned producer Jerry Harrison, either.

Harrison is a modern musicologist who has a terrific knack for discovering the natural rhythms in any melody – and his drummer’s aesthetic was essential in creating this collection, which sounds as if it were recorded live in a sweaty club rather than behind the glass walls of an antiseptic studio.

For a quick tour of the musical range of the Von Bondies, listen to “No Regrets,” “C’mon C’mon” and “Mairead,” three of the collection’s best.

* BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION “Here Come the Brides” [] Sanctuary Records (three stars)

With veteran metal heads Tracii Guns and Nikki Sixx (formerly of LA Guns and Motley Crue, respectively) as the driving force, this all-star metal band delivers the three Vs: volume, velocity and virtuosity.

Head-banging is mandatory as the group, fronted by singer London LeGrand, works through songs such as “Shut The F – – – Up” (dedicated to all the politicos who would be king), the bluesy “Natural Born Killers” and the thrash ‘n’ burn “2 x Dead.”

You’ll want to abuse the Brides for stitching together only nine songs for a full-length album, but the good news is that all nine are choice.

“Only Get So Far,” the album’s power ballad, takes the prize as the disc’s oddball track. It was originally written as a duet for country couple Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, but after Guns heard the tune he was quoted as saying, “F – – – that. We’re keeping this one,” and retooled the tune for metal.

As raw as this disc might sound on a single listen, it’s in fact very polished music that will have a hard time finding play either on radio or MTV.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t excellent: It has snap and crackle – just none of the required pop.

* MARY LOU LORD “Baby Blue” [] Rubric Records (three stars)

On her first album in three years, Mary Lou Lord draws herself as a throwback to the days when singer/songwriters worked in smoky clubs, wore snakeskin boots and sang songs that declared love, protested war and celebrated life.

Lord’s album “Baby Blue” is a jangly, optimistic disc with breathy vocals that come off more like conversations.

Most of the material on this disc is original, but where Lord does her best work is on the covers of Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” and the title track, “Baby Blue,” originally recorded by Badfinger.

Although this disc is consistent with Lord’s coffeehouse styling, her use of a full back-up band lends her a fatter sound that makes up for the thinness in her upper register.