When the Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer got into a nightclub brawl with Jack from The White Stripes a few weeks ago, publicity was presumably the last thing on his mind. As luck would have it, however, the incident has done his band's profile a power of good, just in time for the release of their third album. It's all turned out to be a happy coincidence, as Pawn Shoppe Heart is a bit of a corker - a storming punk rock record that sinks its teeth into the listener right from the opening power chords and refuses to let go. Von Bondies are squarely in the tradition of such Detroit stalwarts as MC5, and their heavy guitar sound manages to combine the machismo of Motorhead with the melodic sensibility of, well - The White Stripes. Admittedly, the adolescent lyrics aren't up to much, but with music this raw and powerful, it hardly matters. One to blow the cobwebs away.
