RPG

If American Idol is any indication, rock is really dead this time. Luckily for us, it looks like someone forgot to send RPG, aka Rocket Propelled Grenade, the obit. On its Arclight Records debut, the Richmond, Virginia, foursome unleash enough raw power and Motor City swagger to make Lester Bangs do the mashed potato in his grave. RPG plays the loud, raw, blue-collar rock that was called “punk” in 1970 and “Mudhoney” twenty years later. It’s not the first time a working stiff strapped on a guitar and stomped a fuzz box, but RPG’s uninhibited, un-ironic approach is refreshing and exhilarating. Night-shift laments (“Clockin In,” “Can’t Get Any Sleep”) and sleazy come-ons (“Lose It,” “You Gotta Know”) careen into each other with the unfettered exuberance of meth-addled, long-haul truckers in a public shower. So forget about working overtime this week: Clock out and rock out with RPG.