The Von Bondies
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Pawn Shoppe Heart (Sire/Reprise)
The latest major-label catch to follow in the garage-rock wake of The White Stripes happens to hail from Detroit, claims a mixed-gender membership and plays a similarly styled brand of rag-tag rock. With former Talking Head Jerry Harrison producing, an intriguing name and a public feud with Jack White, The Von Bondies seem to have everything a buzz band could want. Everything except distinctive songwriting. More polished than the quartet’s 2001 debut, “Pawn Shoppe Heart” is saddled with affected vocals, recycled grooves and derivative arrangements that diminish the music’s intended swagger. In aiming for a middle ground that merges The Stooges’ primal stomp with The MC5’s urban soul, The Von Bondies settle for sounding like a second-rate the Mooney Suzuki.