In Brief

*** 1/2 The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, “Acme,” Matador. “I do not play no blues, I play rock ‘n’ roll,” Spencer exclaims midway through his trio’s fourth album, but that only tells a small part of the story. On “Acme,” the New York band blends Memphis soul, murky guitar riffing and Spencer’s lecherous, Elvis-meets-Marquis de Sade posturing to produce a funky, nasty tribute to unrequited lust.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://mediakit.nohib.com./soundclips