Rolling Blackouts

Jimmy Page could have written and performed the entirety of Black Is Beautiful -- the debut disc by L.A.'s Rolling Blackouts -- with his left pinkie. But that doesn't mean the quartet's cocktail of riffs and struts doesn't rise to the top of today's polluted rock-revival reservoir. Minus the shtick of the Vines and the malarkey of the Darkness, the Blackouts sully their bluesy sludge with bright pop hooks and even a morsel of balladry here and there. But make no mistake: This shit is heavier, fuzzier and crazier than King Kong on a strict diet of Pixy Stix. The band is a bit out of its element opening for the jig-inducing Celtic punk troupe Flogging Molly, but Rolling Blackouts will no doubt leave you temporarily blind, gasping for breath -- and wondering if it's the missing link between the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. Pinkie swear.