Kim Deal is a rocker in the classic mold. In her case that doesn't mean limos, ego trips or endless guitar solos – just nervous energy and a few new ideas in her head. Pacer may be sold as a group effort by a new band called the Amps, but the ragged vision is ultimately Deal's: tough-minded, raw-edged power pop delivered with the best of intentions.

The Amps are the latest Deal side project to turn serious, much as the Breeders were created during her down time with the now defunct Pixies. With Kelley, her twin sister and Breeders guitarist, sidelined by bad habits and legal problems, Kim Deal has kept typically busy. She has tossed together another capable band – Breeders drummer Jim Macpherson and a couple of Dayton, Ohio, homeboys, bassist Luis Lerma and guitarist Nathan Farley – that nails down the rudimentary grooves.

The music here is free, edgy and completely without pretension. Deal fleshes out these dozen tracks with wiggy studio pop experiments: odd tape loops of her voice, subtle industrial effects underneath the guitars' blur. It's all anchored by her charged, minimalist riffing. The title song sets a melancholy tone, with the vocal emerging from a buzzing low-fi wall of sound. Deal's voice sounds like frayed velvet: deep, resilient and stained by tobacco. The moments of torrid sludge ("Breaking the Split Screen Barrier") and amped-up psychobilly ("Full On Idle") are beamed in from another plane. Endlessly euphoric melodies pop up everywhere.

Deal soars even farther into the ether via the spooky sci-fi vacuum of "Hoverin": The deadpan rock-hard riff comes right out of the Wire/Elastica songbook. The grim trio of songs about the drinking life ("Empty Glasses," "Tipp City" and "Mom's Drunk") is abrupt and real, all rough edges and sour attitude. That brutal honesty is part of Deal's appeal as an artist; her days as the Pixies' second banana remain a distant, puzzling memory. Although Pacer has a casual flavor, it never lacks in drive or purpose; the music suggests that the Amps are more than a lark. With or without the Breeders, this essential rocker has energy to burn. (RS 723)

STEVE APPLEFORD