Enchanté

For the past decade or so, Margaret Doll Rod has made a name for herself as one-third of Detroit’s notorious Demolition Doll Rods, a band that’s survived on a rock, roll and blues pedigree that’s equal parts flash and trash, and as pure as the Gories that spawned them.

Without shame, the Doll Rods have paraded across this country (and many others) sporting self-designed nipple tassels and feathers covering their privates, tirelessly evangelizing the gospel of rock ’n’ roll.

Doll Rod enthusiasts won’t be disappointed to hear that the majority of the ten songs on Margaret’s solo debut veer close to the territory that the DDRs have carefully carved out for themselves. Yet, Margaret’s acoustic-driven, delicate side might surprise some.

Enchanté is beautiful stuff, to be sure, and Margaret puts her heart and soul on the line, blurring divisions between love, faith, womanhood and manhood — themes drawn from her life in the margins.

That’s not to say that Margaret doesn’t let her balls and sex-positive side dangle; she’s out to massacre her gitbox and kick hard on the bass drum that pumps all through this record. What’s more, this veritable smorgasbord of sexy rawk ’n’ roll is supplemented by accompanying album art that shields the nude artist’s naughty bits with a combination of elbows and red guitar.

“I’m a cute little girl with a cute little figure, come on, boys, ’cause I’m getting bigger,” begins her intro to John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” the renowned boast that Hooker righteously recorded time and time again throughout his long and fabled career. “How, how, how, how, … Unh, uhn, uhn, uhn.” Sometimes that’s all you need to say.

E-mail Michael Murphy at letters@metrotimes.com.