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AUDIO

It’s not often that you get to witness a band that ab-so-lute-ly blows you away. But that’s exactly what happened to my buddy Kevin Brown and me a few weeks ago when we went to Bourbon’s in Portsmouth and saw the mesmerizing force that is LOURDS, a four-piece rock ‘n’ roll band from NYC.

(Psst — You can check them out for yourselves when they return to the Seacoast to play Mojitos in Dover on Thursday, Nov. 16, and again on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at the Dover Brick House. For updated tour info, check out the band’s Web site at www.lourds.com.)

Mr. B. and I had just enjoyed a great opening set by Go Yuki, the band we had gone to see, but decided to stay and check out this second act fronted by Lourds Lane, a singer who plays electric violin and mandolin.

Lourds, the woman, has all the makings of a great rock star. She’s mysteriously gorgeous in a sort of punky Pippi Longstocking meets Siouxsie Sioux sort of way. She has the kind of voice that reminds me of Tori Amos (only louder and brasher), and not only does she play the most exotically futuristic violin I’ve ever seen, but she cranks that mutha out! On stage at Bourbon’s, in a dinky little bar that wasn’t even half full on a Saturday night (What is wrong with this town?), she exhibited the rebellious girliness of a Lori Petty (aka Tank Girl) combined with the absolute vocal bravado and intense sexuality of a Marianne Faithfull.

MULTIMEDIA Video:  LOURDS returns to rock the Seacoast

Simply put, Lourds Lane is a freakin’ force of nature.

LOURDS, the band, is not just a kick ass quartet, but has the kind of sound and vision that pumps out some of the most fun and intelligent head-banging punk rock I’ve come across in a long, long time. Drummer Sarah Vasil, whose swirling abandon reminded me at times of Keith Moon, rules her kit with an on-the-money beat. She is by far one of the best drummers I’ve seen in ages. Guitarist Gene Blank has serious skill and exhibits the kind of accomplished authority on his axe that I think will quickly elevate this band to larger stages where thousands of head-bangers will be pumping their fists high in unison. Bassist Joey Sagarese thwamps it out with the best of ‘em (seriously, this guy is really good), but he has an annoying habit (to me anyway) of flicking his tongue about ala Hendrix or Gene Simmons. It worked for them — not so much for Joey.

Watching this band perform songs from its eponymous new CD (produced by Ed Stasium, the same guy who produced records for such bands as the Ramones, Smithereens, Living Colour and Biohazard), LOURDS has the kind of unflinching adrenaline-fueled power that makes you an immediate fan. Don’t think for a minute that Lourds’ violin and mandolin are gimmicks (she was a child prodigy who performed at Carnegie Hall at age 6, according to her Web site). Every time she lifts that bow you know you are about to be jolted with electricity.

I love the new album, with its mix of slam-a-jam fiddle-infused arena rockers such as “Always” and “Krazy” (with its quiet refrain of “Why do we cherish those who hurt us most?”) or “Astropop” (remember the red-white-and-blue frozen pops the Ice Cream Man sold out of a truck that turned your tongue and lips blue when you were a kid?) to the somewhat more mellow “Purple Sky,” “Love All of Me” and “Supergirl.”

The writing is intelligent, personal, yet universal. And while the record is really good (in fact, a hell of a lot better than most of what’s being released week in and week out these days), part of that greatness for me is because of the lingering mental image of just how powerful this band is on stage. It’s that memory of the live act that comes with me to the CD and forces my hand to turn the volume to 11 while driving back and forth to Boston, and it’s that combined experience that will keep me coming back to every show by LOURDS that I can possibly drag my sorry old ass to.

If it works for me, well heck, it can work for you too.

Michael Keating is managing editor/ features at Seacoast Media Group — at least until Friday when he leaves to take a new job in Boston. Ta-ta everyone, it’s been fun.