Bang! Bang!

Chicago's Bang! Bang! bills itself as "sex rock," which seems a little bit redundant — isn't all rock & roll about sex? Last year's The Dirt That Makes You Drown traffics largely in danceable garage rock, with simple riffs and razor-sharp boy-girl vocal interchanges. Guitarist Jackie Flash sings in a strident, snide tone that mixes British Invasion's pomp and rockabilly's hiccupping urgency, while bassist Gretta Fine adds touches of sweetness and menace; together, they create a Midwestern version of the Raveonettes. Most of the material is as quick and dirty as the band name implies, but Bang! Bang! is most entrancing when the music pulsates and drones, as in the stellar "I Could Die," which recalls the slow heartbeat and building drama of the best Spiritualized songs. That's My Daughter and the Sex Robots also perform.